A Shoulder to Lean On
by Argyle.S
Summary: After the Dominator Invasion, Sara gets Gideon to modify Kara's phone so they can talk. Season 2 AU. Set between Medusa and Supergirl Lives on Supergirl, and Invasion Part 3 and Raiders of the Lost Art on Legends.


Notes: This was written as a gift for takarter as part of the Super Santa Femslash 2018 fic exchange. It is probably more angsty than the prompt called for, but the first fic I wrote was even worse, and is currently something like fifty pages of General Danvers heart break, so really, this is better for everyone.

Thanks for Reading, and Merry Christmas. I hope everyone who celebrates has a very happy holiday, and this makes things a little less rough for all of you.

The Prompt was: Mutual pining (or secret relationship) around Christmas time; possibly including teasing friends and cute winter/Christmas activities!

* * *

Central City (Earth 1)

Monday, November 28th, 2016

"Would you like to grab a drink?" Sara asked.

Kara smiled at Sara, a polite 'no' on the tip of her tongue. She'd left home with nothing more than a quick text to Alex and James telling them she'd be gone for a few days, and they were probably in a tizzy wondering where she was, but for some reason, the thought of going home sat heavy in her gut. So, she tucked Cisco's dimensional extrapolator into her pocket, and gave Sara a small nod.

"I'd love to," she said. "You know a place?"

"I do," Sara said, holding up her phone. "Do they not have google where you come from?"

Kara laughed. "They do," she said, "but Yelp keeps ignoring my suggestions to add ratings for 'likelihood your night will be interrupted by a supervillain.'"

"Really? Because they added that around the time Barry accidentally opened a black hole on this Earth."

Kara looked over at Barry and shook her head. "Maybe we should go before there's another crisis."

"Good idea," Sara said. She turned and made a small production of offering Kara her arm.

Kara stared at her for a moment before she shrugged and took it, letting Sara lead her out of the Star Labs Hangar.

* * *

"Wait, you really said 'I flew here on a bus'?" Sara asked.

"I really did," Kara said. "I'm a terrible liar."

"You don't say."

"Well, it's hard," Kara said. She took a sip from her beer. "I mean, I really like Lena, but sometimes being her friend is just this huge ball of stress, because I have to lie to her all the time."

"Now, see, that I get," Sara said. "Trying to pretend to be normal when you lead the kind of lives we do is just exhausting."

"Isn't it?"

"Totally!"

"It wasn't like it was any better before I became Supergirl, either," Kara said sadly. "I couldn't tell anyone about home. I couldn't talk about what it was like growing up. I had this huge list of lies I had memorized. Where I went to first grade, what happened to my parents. It's no wonder the only person I was close to was my sister."

"You have a sister?" Sara asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "Adopted. She's great, and I love her, but sometimes I just wish I had someone else to talk to. You know what I mean?"

Sara sighed. "Honestly, I'd give anything to talk to my sister again."

"You two don't talk?" Kara asked.

"She died," Sara said.

"Oh," Kara said. "Oh, God. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Sara said. "Well, no, it's not okay. It's just something I have to live with."

Kara reached out and took Sara's hand. "I'd tell you it gets better, but…"

"But you're a terrible liar," Sara said.

"Yeah," Kara said. "Want to hear a secret?"

"Sure."

"In about six months, I'll have lived on Earth longer than I did on Krypton," Kara said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Kara said.

"That's got to be hard to realize."

"I hate it," Kara said. "Every time I think about it, I want to cry, but I can't say anything to anyone, because if I do, they'd all get that look on their faces. You know the one?"

"Yeah," Sara said. "I know the one."

"I hate it," Kara said. "The pity. Like I'm some broken thing."

"God, that always drives me nuts," Sara said.

"You know, maybe I should ask for someone I could be completely honest with for Christmas," Kara said.

Sara gave her an odd look that Kara couldn't quite interpret, before raising her hand and waving the waitress over.

"Check, please."

"Coming right up," the waitress said.

"Are we going somewhere?" Kara asked.

"I'm taking you Christmas shopping," Sara said proudly.

* * *

"Can you do it, Gideon?" Sara asked.

"Of course," Gideon said. "In fact, I'm insulted that you ever doubted it."

"Well, I apologize," Sara said. "I have never dealt with dimensional travel before, so I'm out of my depth."

"Apology accepted," Gideon said. "Ms. Zor-El, if you'll just place your phone in the scanning compartment, I'll begin making the modifications. Once it's complete, you'll be able to text or call Captain Lance no matter what universe you are in, or what time she's in."

Kara sat her phone in the compartment and turned to Sara, who was giving her a smug little smile.

"See," she said. "I always give the lady what she needs."

Kara reached out and pulled Sara into a hug. "Thank you," she said.

Sara hugged her back. "You didn't really think I was going to let you run off without getting your phone number, did you?"

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Tuesday, November 29th, 2016

Kara walked into her apartment and slammed the door as hard as she dared, which only made her more frustrated, because it wasn't nearly hard enough to feel satisfying. She stomped across the apartment which also wasn't satisfying, because if she stomped hard enough for it to be satisfying, she'd bring the building down.

Why was there never an alien or a monster or a metahuman in need of punching when you wanted one?

She threw herself down on the couch and stared at the TV, cursing it because there wasn't anything she was interested in watching that wasn't already in the 'wait and watch it with Alex' queue.

She considered watching something Alex really wanted to see out of spite, but she just wasn't feeling it, so instead, she reached for her phone, and pulled up her text app.

Kara: Can I scream?

Sara: If you like. I'm guessing the welcome back to National City wasn't as warm as you'd hoped?

Kara: I was gone for three days. The way Alex and J'onn are acting, you'd think I was gone for a year.

Sara: Would it make you feel better if I called them Paranoid and Clingy?

Kara: Yes.

Sara: :) They are paranoid and clingy. You are a grown (and insanely sexy) woman, and they should let you live your life.

Kara: THANK YOU!

Sara: It's true. You are insanely sexy.

Kara: SARA!

Sara: KARA!

Sara: You feel better now?

Kara: A little.

Sara: You know they're just worried because they care about you, right?

Kara: Yeah. I know. It just gets to be a bit much sometime.

Sara: I remember. When my dad found out I was alive after my time with the League, he got a bit smothering. My sister too.

Kara: Now I feel bad.

Sara: Sorry.

Kara: It's okay. I'm just feeling sorry for myself.

Kara: Want to hear something cool?

Sara: Sure.

Kara: Alex has a girlfriend!

Sara: She got a girlfriend during the three days you were gone?

Sara: Damn. I'm going to have to ask for tips.

Kara: LOL!

Kara: No, it's Maggie.

Sara: And Maggie is…

Kara: Maggie's the reason Alex came out. They met at a crime scene (Maggie's a cop) and Alex realized she's a lesbian, but Maggie said she didn't want to date someone who just came out.

Sara: Not liking Maggie so far.

Kara: Hush. It gets better.

Sara: I hope so.

Kara: Maggie got hurt during one of the fights right before I came to Earth 1. Alex patched her up. Apparently, while I was talking to Barry and Cisco, Maggie was showing up and giving Alex some big romantic speech, so they are totally a thing now.

Sara: Still not loving Maggie, but good for Alex.

Kara: You think I should be worried?

Sara: No. I just get a little crabby about lesbians who act like it's some sort of crime if you don't figure out you're queer by the time you hit puberty.

Kara: I kind of feel like it's my fault Alex didn't figure it out.

Sara: What do you mean?

Kara: I mean, growing up Alex was kind of isolated because of me. We talked a lot, but it was always about my problems.

Kara: I feel like maybe if I'd been more supportive, it might not have taken her so long.

Sara: I get what you're feeling, but can I give you some advice?

Kara: Please.

Sara: You need to let that go.

Kara: What do you mean?

Sara: You were young, and you went through something terrible and it made you be selfish. If you want to be a better sister now, you need to let go of that guilt, because if you hang on to it, you're making this whole thing about you, when it should be about her.

Kara: Oh.

Kara: I never thought of it that way.

Sara: True story. I was a terrible sister.

Kara: I'm sure you weren't.

Sara: Kara, that's sweet, but I slept with Oliver Queen while he was practically engaged to my sister.

Kara: Um… That's pretty bad.

Sara: It was a horrible thing to do. Laurel and I did patch it up, but I had to let go of the guilt before that could happen.

Sara: Guilt is… It's selfish. It's about how what happened affects you, but you make things right by helping the person you hurt to heal.

Kara: That is really good advice.

Kara: Thank you.

Sara: Anytime. I've got to go. We're trying to stop Al Capone from murdering Eliot Ness.

Kara: Sounds fun.

Sara: Not the word I would use. Talk to you later.

Kara smiled as she sat her phone down. She was really glad she'd agreed to that drink.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Wednesday, November 30th, 2016

Kara was sitting in her office, doing one last edit on an article when the text alert she'd set for Sara went off. She reached over and picked up her phone, unlocking it so she could check her messages.

Sara: You got a minute?

Kara: Sure. What's up?

Sara: Can I call you?

Kara: Of course.

The phone rang, and Kara answered it.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Sara said, and Kara immediately knew something was wrong, because Sara sounded absolutely miserable.

"What's wrong?"

There was a momentary pause, then she heard Sara let out a dejected sigh.

"I fought the man who killed my sister today."

"Are you okay?"

"Is it okay if I say no?"

"Of course it is," Kara said.

"No," Sara said. "I had to let him go. I had him. I could have killed him. But I had to let him go to save Professor Stein."

"I'm sorry," Kara said. "I know that must have been hard."

"Yeah," Sara said. "I hate this. God, I hate it so much. I have a fucking time machine. I can go anywhere in space or time, but the one thing I actually want to do is the one thing I can't, because I'm supposed to *protect* the timeline, which means every single day, I have to get up, and go through the day, and let my sister die all over again, and it's fucking killing me."

Kara could hear the pain in Sara's voice, and wished she could hug her and let her cry it out, but at that moment, they were separated by universes and decades, which didn't seem fair at all, because no-one should have to suffer like that alone. There was only one thing she could think of that might help.

"Do you want out?" Kara asked.

"What?" Sara asked.

"If being on the Waverider hurts that much, maybe you need to find someplace else," Kara said. "If you like, I could talk to J'onn. The DEO can always use good agents. And we already know you and I make a pretty good team."

Sara laughed, and if the sound wasn't as bright as it had been on other occasions, it still brought a smile to Kara's face.

"We do, don't we?" Sara asked. "God, that's a tempting offer."

"I'd really like to have you here," Kara said.

There was silence on the line for almost a minute, before Sara spoke again. "I can't. I… The Legends are a complete disaster, but they're my family, and we've still got a missing man."

"Okay. But if you change your mind, let me know. I promise you, you'll always be welcome here."

"Thank you, Kara. That means a lot."

* * *

The Temporal Zone

Sara was sitting in the office at the back of the Waverider's bridge, sipping scotch and wondering what their next move should be. They still needed to find Rip and get the Amulet back from Thawn, Merlin and Darhk, but she didn't have a clue where to start, and it was really, really frustrating.

"Captain Lance," Gideon said.

"Yes, Gideon?"

"I have an incoming call from Ms. Zor-El."

Sara smiled and sat down her scotch. "Put it through," she said.

"Hey, Sara," Kara said.

"Hey yourself," Sara replied.

"You have time to talk?" Kara asked.

"Yeah. Honestly, it would be a relief. I'm kind of at a dead end right now."

"I know how you feel," Kara said.

"Trouble on the Supergirl front?"

"More like the day job front," Kara said. "I hate my boss."

Sara laughed. "Doesn't everyone?"

"No. I mean, I really liked my last boss. She was a little scary sometimes, but she was amazing."

"Why'd you change jobs?" Sara asked.

"I got promoted," Kara said.

"Good for you."

"Yeah. I guess. I just miss Cat."

"You miss your cat?"

"No. Sorry. Cat was my boss. Cat Grant."

"The editor of the Daily Planet?" Sara asked.

"She's the editor of the Daily Planet on your Earth?"

"She's not on yours?"

"She's CEO of CatCo World Wide Media. Or she was. She's taking a sabbatical."

"Wow."

"Yeah," Kara said. "She was amazing. I mean, I could go to her as Kara, or as Supergirl, and she would always know just what to say to point me in the right direction. It's like, ever since she left, I feel a little lost."

"Sounds like she was your friend, too."

"Yeah," Kara said. "Honestly, my life kind of revolved around her for a long time. I was her executive assistant, and I just… I miss it. Being a reporter is great, but I liked taking care of Cat."

"It's hard when you lose something big in your life," Sara said. "I had a girlfriend, Nyssa. She was my whole world for almost five years, and I had to walk away from her. It was the hardest thing I ever did."

"I'm sorry," Kara said.

"Not your fault," Sara said. "Not mine, either. She made the choice. Told me to leave, to forget her and be happy. It felt like someone had pulled the ground out from under me, and it took me a long time to find a firm footing again."

"That's what I feel like. Like I'm flying and can't find a place to land."

"You'll get there eventually," Sara said. "It just takes time."

"Time sucks," Kara said.

"Yeah," Sara said. "It really does."

"I still don't know what to do about Snapper, though."

"Snapper?"

"My new boss," Kara said. "He's kind of a jerk."

"Well, far be it from me to suggest anything other than completely professional behavior, but I have a few ideas."

"I'm listening."

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Friday, December 2nd, 2016

Kara couldn't stop grinning as she closed the door to her office. She walked over to her desk, sat down, took out her phone, and typed out a quick text.

Kara: It worked!

Sara: Which one?

Kara: The tin foil one. Well, aluminum foil. But still, it totally worked.

Sara: Please tell me you have video?

Kara: What kind of reporter do you think I am? Of course I have video.

Sara: Share, girl.

Kara laughed and sent Sara the video of Snapper's reaction to finding every single item in his office, down to the individual paperclips and rubber bands, carefully wrapped in aluminum foil.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Saturday, December 3rd, 2016

"Hold on just a minute," Kara said. She reached into her purse, and pulled out her phone, and saw a message from Sara. She opened it.

Sara: Selfie with a velociraptor!

Kara laughed at the image of Sara holding a dinosaur about the size of a border collie in her lap, scratching it under the chin like it was a cat while the dinosaur had its eyes closed.

Kara: It's so cute!

Sara: Yeah. It followed me home. I'm sad because Gideon says I can't keep it!

Kara: That's mean!

Sara: I know! Anyway, got to go. Someone's taking big game hunters back to the Cretaceous Period and we've got to stop them.

Kara: Good luck.

Sara: Thanks!

"Well, that must have been some message," Lena said.

Kara jumped a little at the reminder that she wasn't alone, and felt a small blush heat her cheeks. She locked her phone and tucked it back into her purse.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's okay," Lena said. "Who was that?"

"Just a friend," Kara said.

"Just a friend?"

"Yeah," Kara said. "Someone I met when I was out of town over the weekend."

"Well, he must be special if he put a smile like that on your face."

"Oh. No. It's not like that," Kara said.

"Really? And does this friend have a name?"

Kara looked down at the stack of pancakes in front of her, not sure why she didn't want to share this, but feeling a little protective of it.

"It's nothing," she said, and immediately hated herself for saying it. "So, how's the new tablet doing? I heard that it's outselling Lord Technologies' latest model."

"Kara," Lena said, in a softer tone.

Kara looked up at her, and there was an apology all over Lena's face, even before she said it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay," Kara said.

"No, it's not," Lena said. "You can tell me when you're ready. I promise I won't pry."

"Thank you."

"What are friends for?"

* * *

The Temporal Zone

Sara smiled when she heard her phone chime and reached for it.

"Is someone texting you?" Nate asked.

"Yes," Sara said, "because unlike some people, I'm not a loser."

Nate put his hand over his heart. "That hurts."

"The truth always does," Sara replied as she opened her text messages.

Kara: My Favorite Martian!

Sara laughed at the picture of Supergirl standing next to a green-skinned alien in black and red armor. He had his arm around her shoulder, and an indulgent, almost fatherly smile on his face.

Kara: See the silver thing in the background?

Sara: Yeah.

Kara: Giant robot leg! It was sixty feet tall and made of Promethium. It took us two hours to break through the armor.

Sara: Sounds like fun.

Kara: Totally! We just picked it up and carried it to the desert to fight it, so there was only a little damage to the city. I'd keep it around for stress relief, but you just know some Supervillain would steal it and go on a rampage.

Sara: Stupid supervillains. This job would be so much more fun without them.

Kara: I know! On the plus side, it's been six whole months since one of my co-workers developed superpowers and tried to kill me.

Sara: Six months? Damn, girl. What's your secret?

Kara: You know, oddly, that stopped happening around the same time Cat left town. I wonder if there's a connection?

Sara: Maybe. You think Cat's really an evil mastermind who cranks out lesser supervillains as a way to test you?

Kara: No. I think she drives her employees insane and they take up supervillainy to get revenge. She kept me around to dispose of them.

Sara: Silly woman. I can think of much better reasons to keep you around.

Kara: Oh, really?

Sara: Definitely.

Kara: Well, you'll have to share later. A giant turtle is attacking Tokyo. Got to run.

Sara: I want pictures!

Sara locked her phone and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Someone's got a girlfriend," Nate sang.

"What? No!" Sara said.

"You do! You're totally blushing right now!"

"I am not!"

"You absolutely are," Nate said. "Gideon, back me up!"

"I am afraid Mr. Haywood is correct, Captain Lance," Gideon said. "You are blushing. It looks quite striking on you, I might add."

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Monday, December 5th, 2016

Kara: Today sucked.

Sara: Agreed. Today is cancelled.

Kara: Can I call you?

Sara: Please. I could use a friendly voice.

Kara pulled up Sara in her contacts and hit send.

"Hey," Sara said, sounding so tired it was almost painful.

"Hey," Kara replied. "You first."

"History fucking sucks," Sara said. "I mean, it really fucking sucks."

"What happened?" Kara asked.

"Did you guys have Joseph McCarthy on your Earth?" Sara asked.

"Yes," Kara said.

"I had to save his life," Sara said. "I had to save his life, and when I was done, he started ranting about how it was a homosexual plot against him."

"What did you do?" Kara asked.

"I punched him in the face," Sara said. "I may also have kicked him in the balls."

"Good!" Kara said.

"Yeah," Sara said. "It felt really good. It would have felt a lot better to stop him from ruining all those lives though."

"I know," Kara said.

"What about you?"

"I had to cover an anti-discrimination lawsuit today," Kara said. "A Korugarian is suing a local restaurant that installed an alien detector, and refuses to let any non-humans in."

"That's gross," Sara said.

"I know," Kara said. "I thought when the Alien Amnesty went through, it would stop things like this, but the jury ruled in the restaurant's favor."

"That's bullshit."

"I know," Kara said. "The ACLU's already filed an appeal, but that could take months, and in the meantime, half the stupid city is going to be installing alien detectors."

"I'm sorry," Sara said.

"You know, I try to stay positive, but some days, it's really, really hard to remember why I protect this planet," Kara said. "There's just, so much hate and ugliness, and I really, really just want to heat vision them."

"I know how you feel," Sara said. "Every time I have to listen to some asshole go on a rant about how evil queer people are, I want to stick a knife in them and twist."

"You know what makes it even worse?" Kara asked.

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Lena's company makes the alien detectors," Kara said.

"WHAT?"

"I know," Kara said. "When the verdict came back, I went to her for a quote, and we got into a huge fight over it. She kept going on about how people had the right to know, and all I wanted to do was tell her I'm an alien."

"How do you think she'd react?" Sara asked.

"I don't know," Kara said. "And right now, that's making me sick to my stomach."

"You still have the Dimensional Extrapolator?" Sara asked.

"Yeah," Kara said.

"Central City, Earth 1. Same bar as last time," Sara said.

"When?"

"Ten minutes?"

"See you soon."

* * *

Kara walked into the bar, and spotted Sara in a booth over in the corner. There was a man talking to her, and Kara felt a completely irrational stab of jealousy over it. Normally, she would have swallowed it, but today, she was just beyond caring. She marched across the bar and slipped into the booth next to Sara and slipped an arm around her.

"Hey," she said. "Sorry I'm late."

Sara smiled at her. "No problem, babe," Sara said. She leaned over and kissed Kara's cheek, then looked up at the man standing next to the booth.

"Like I said, I'm meeting someone."

"Hey," the guy said. "That's cool. I've always wanted to try a threesome."

"Excuse me?" Kara asked.

"It's okay, babe," the guy said. "I'm not really into the whole librarian look you got going, but I'm sure once you're naked, you'll look fine."

Kara looked over at Sara.

"All yours," Sara said.

Kara turned around, a vicious smile on her face. "Leave. Now."

"Come on, don't be like that!" the guy said.

"I warned you," Kara said, and gave a small, tiny puff of freeze breath. Not enough to do any tissue damage, but he got hit in the face by a two hundred mile an hour gust and staggered back, falling flat on his ass, taking down two tables in the process.

The occupants of both tables got covered with their own drinks and looked down at the guy who'd been hitting on Sara, with fury written on their faces.

The guy stood up, a little wobbly, and one of the men he'd dowsed said, "Nice job, asshole."

"You're paying for our drinks," another one said.

"Fuck that," the first guy said. "That bitch at the table did something to me."

Kara turned to Sara. "Did he just call me a bitch?"

"Yes, he did," Sara said.

"Right," Kara said. She slipped out of the booth and stood up. "Wrong day, jerk."

* * *

"Feel better?" Sara asked as she surveyed the bar full of unconscious assholes.

"Much," Kara said with a grin on her face.

"Of course, you realize this is going to make it much harder to get a drink," Sara said.

"That's what Yelp is for," Kara said.

"We could just go back to the Waverider," Sara said.

"That would probably be safer for everyone," Kara said.

* * *

"I don't get it though," Kara said as she poured Sara another scotch. "I mean, sometimes Lena's great, and I really like being around her, but any time the alien stuff comes up, she gets this weird attitude."

"Like she doesn't want them around?" Sara asked.

"Like we're something to be afraid of," Kara said. "Like we look down on humans or something."

"Well, you do," Sara said. "But only when you're all flyie and stuff."

"How much have scotch have you had?" Kara asked.

Sara looked down at her glass. "I should probably think about switching to beer."

"I'll get them," Kara said. She stood up and walked across the galley to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers and brought them back to the table, frowning a little when she saw that Sara had emptied her glass of scotch.

"Has Lena ever been around an alien?" Sara asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "She's been around me."

"But she doesn't know you're an alien."

"I meant Supergirl me," Kara said as she popped the tops off the beers and passed one over to Sara.

"Oh," Sara said. "She must be Super straight then."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, if I wasn't already into girls, being around Supergirl you would have definitely made me come to Lesbian Jesus," Sara said.

"That is terrible," Kara said. She took a sip of the beer, and almost spit it out. "And so is this beer."

"I know," Sara laughed.

"Why do you drink it?"

Sara shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know," she said, laughing even harder.

"You're drunk, aren't you?"

Sara nodded. "Yes. Very"

"Okay," Kara said. "Time to put you to bed."

Sara gave her a smile that sent a strangely electric feeling through her. "You can put me to bed any time," Sara said.

Kara rolled her eyes and took Sara's beer from her. She stood up and walked over to the disposal, dropping the bottles in. Then she came back over, and leaned down, scooping Sara up in her arms.

"Come on."

Sara wrapped her arms around Kara's neck and rested her head against Kara's chest.

"Which way to your quarters?" Kara asked, only to be answered by a soft snore. She looked down, only to see Sara was dead to the world.

"Gideon, which way to Sara's quarters?"

"Out of the galley and turn left," Gideon said softly.

Kara followed Gideon's instructions, making her way to the Captain's quarters. She lowered Sara into a chair and took a moment to turn down the bed. Then she knelt down and took Sara's boots off.

She picked Sara up again and carefully tucked her into bed, and on impulse, she pressed a kiss to Sara's head. She started to pull away, when Sara caught her arm.

"Stay," Sara whispered.

"You're drunk," Kara said.

"Stay anyway," Sara said. "I'll be good. I just don't want to be alone."

Kara stared at her for a moment, knowing she shouldn't, but the truth was, she didn't want to be alone either.

"Okay," she said.

She undressed quickly, stripping down to her panties and t-shirt, and slipped into bed next to Sara, who immediately curled up against Kara's side and rested her head on Kara's shoulder. Kara smiled and wrapped her arm tightly around Sara.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Tuesday, December 6th, 2016

Sara: You make it home okay?

Kara: Yeah. No one even noticed I was gone.

Sara: Is that good, or bad?

Kara: I don't know anymore, but I get to spend the night with you, and I didn't get yelled at, so I'm voting good.

Sara: I'm definitely in favor.

Kara: I also had Gideon run off a couple of more interdimensional communicators. I thought if I gave one to Alex and one to the DEO, they wouldn't freak out if I'm over there.

Sara: Good idea.

Sara: I didn't make things awkward last night, did I?

Kara: No.

Kara: I had a great time last night.

Sara: I liked waking up next to you.

Kara: I liked that too.

"What's got you smiling so big?" Alex asked, making Kara jump a little. She looked up from her phone and gave a small shrug.

"Nothing," Kara said. "Just chatting with a friend."

"How's Lena doing?" Alex asked.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to Lena since yesterday," Kara said.

"Okay, but Winn's sitting right over there, and you haven't smiled like that about James since before you two broke up," Alex said. "So, I assumed it was Lena."

"What, you think Winn, James and Lena are my only friends?" Kara asked.

"Well, I did until just now," Alex said. "Who are you talking to?"

"Someone I met on Earth 1," Kara said.

"Oh," Alex said, her tone going a little flat.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that," Kara said. "I might be visiting there a bit more often."

"Kara, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah," Kara said. "And I know you and J'onn worry, so I had a friend make a couple of comms that will let you talk to me when I'm over there. That way, if I'm visiting and you need me, you can call, and I can hop back over."

"That's good," Alex said, without much enthusiasm.

Kara suppressed the urge to sigh and decided to turn the conversation to a safer topic. "How's Maggie?"

Alex's face brightened up immediately.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Wednesday, December 7th, 2016

Kara was at a crime scene when the text alert sounded for her phone. She glanced down at the pack of bank robbers she had tied up and decided they weren't going anywhere, so she took out her phone and leaned back against the wall while she checked her messages.

Sara: I swear it's like herding cats.

Kara: Trouble with the crew?

Sara: Ray is pouting because… I honestly don't know why Ray is pouting.

Kara: :) Poor Sara. It's like you're a mom, except all your kids have super powers, and are supposed to be adults.

Sara: YES! It's exactly like that!

Sara: I need help. I didn't sign up to be a single mom.

Kara: I'd offer, but everyone keeps telling me I'm twelve.

Sara: You are definitely not twelve.

Kara felt her cheeks heat up and wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. She didn't have time to, because she glanced up and saw Maggie leading a squad of cops into the bank.

"Hey, Supergirl," Maggie said.

"Detective Sawyer," she said. "All yours."

"Thanks," Maggie said.

* * *

The Temporal Zone

"Hey," Sara said as she answered her phone.

"Hey," Kara said in a dejected tone.

"You okay?" Sara asked.

"Not really," Kara said.

"What's the matter?" Sara asked.

"Am I a terrible person if I'm jealous of all the time my sister is spending with her girlfriend?"

"That kind of depends," Sara said. "What part is making you jealous?"

"Alex skipped sister night again," Kara said.

"To spend it with Maggie?" Sara asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "I mean, I get it. It's new and shiny and she's just come out and she had a rough patch with it at first, but then she and Maggie got together, and they're kind of sickeningly happy, and I really want to be happy for them, which is why I didn't say anything when Alex called and asked if I'd mind if she skipped last week."

"But then she called and skipped this week too?" Sara guessed.

"She didn't call," Kara said.

"What?"

"She just texted. It wasn't even a question. Just, 'Hey, I can't make it tonight. Maggie has tickets to a concert. We'll do it next week.'"

"Well, I've got good news and bad news," Sara said.

"Good news first," Kara said.

"The good news is, you are not a terrible person."

"That's the best you can do?"

"It gets better. You're going to have to have one of those grown-up conversations with your sister about what is and isn't okay with you," Sara said.

"I don't want to!" Kara said, sounding exactly like a grumpy five-year-old.

"I know," Sara said. "But your sister is in love. And you're right. It's new and it's shiny, and it's intoxicating. Take it from me. There is nothing in the world that will make you make stupid decisions quite like being in love for the first time. So, you're going to have to sit down and tell your sister that you're happy for her, and that you're fine with Maggie getting the other six nights of the week, but you need sister night."

"Can't I just toss Maggie into orbit?"

"Well, you could, but *then* you would be a terrible person."

"Being an adult sucks," Kara said.

"Sweetheart, on that, we both agree," Sara said.

* * *

Central City (Earth 1)

Friday, December 9th, 2016

"So, I'm standing there, looking this eight-foot-tall alien in the face, thinking it's going to be this huge fight, and he looks at me and says, 'I want my mommy!'," Kara said as she lay in Sara's bed.

"No way!" Sara said.

"I swear," Kara said.

"Were you able to find his mom?" Sara asked.

"Yeah. Tiny little thing. She stood about four feet tall, and *maybe* weighed sixty pounds soaking wet. He'd wandered off while she was doing her shopping down in Chinatown. When we found her, *I* was afraid. She took one look at him and went into pure mom mode. It was pretty intense," Kara said.

"Sounds like a good day," Sara said as she curled up against Kara's side, resting her head on Kara's shoulder.

Kara wrapped her arm around Sara. "Yeah," she said. "Any day when I get to help somebody instead of fight them is a good day."

"Amen to that," Sara said. "Can you stay here tonight?"

"Yeah," Kara said. "I don't have anywhere to be."

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Saturday, December 10th, 2016

Kara sighed as she flipped through the channels, wondering why she could never find anything on when she was bored. She turned the TV off, and glanced over at her lap top, wondering if she could find anything online to keep her entertained, but that didn't really appeal either. She started considering a few laps around National City as Supergirl when there was a knock at the door.

She took a quick peek with her X-Ray vision and frowned when she saw Lena at the door. She grabbed her glasses, putting them on as she walked over to the door. She opened it and looked out.

"Hey," Lena said.

"Hey," Kara said.

"I come bearing donuts," Lena said, holding up a huge pink box.

Kara opened the door. "Come in," she said.

Lena stepped into the apartment, carrying the donuts over to the table. Kara closed the door behind her, then headed over to the fridge. "I'm afraid I don't have any open wine at the moment," Kara said. "I can open a bottle if you want."

"Water's fine," Lena said.

"Okay." Kara grabbed a bottle of water, and a grape soda out of the fridge and a couple of paper plates out of the cabinet before she joined Lena at the table.

Lena opened the box of donuts and put a strawberry glazed with sprinkles on Kara's plate. It brought a small smile to her face that Lena remembered her favorite.

"I wanted to apologize," Lena said.

"Okay," Kara said. "I'm listening."

Lena frowned and dropped her eyes down to the donuts, selecting a chocolate-glazed for herself.

"I've been thinking about what you said. About how the alien detector violates people's right to privacy."

"And?"

"And I'm willing to concede that I might now have considered all of the potential ramifications before I released the device to market."

"You're willing to concede?"

"Yes."

"Lena, that's not an apology," Kara said.

"Well, what do you want?" Lena asked.

"I told you," Kara said. "Take them off the market."

"I can't," Lena said.

"Yes, you can," Kara said.

"Kara, I answer to a board, and if I cancel one of our best-selling products…"

"That's crap, Lena. People are being hurt by one of your best-selling products."

Lena sighed. "Coming here was a mistake," she said. "I thought you were my friend. Not just another person who wanted something out of me."

"Is that what you think?" Kara asked.

"You're not doing a lot to convince me otherwise," Lena said.

Kara pushed the plate with the donut away from her and stood up. "Wait here."

She walked over to the corner where she kept her work bag, and reached inside, pulling out a long narrow box. She carried it back over to the table and sat down.

"What's that?" Lena asked.

Kara opened the box and took out one of LCorp's alien detectors. She turned it on and sat it on the table between them.

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with them," Lena said.

"I don't," Kara said. "I bought one so a friend of mine could take it apart and figure out how it works."

"Why?" Lena asked.

"To figure out how to beat it," Kara said.

"Why would you want to do that?" Lena asked.

"If I put my thumb on that scanner, and it turned red, what would you do?" Kara asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Lena asked. "You're not an alien."

"But what if I were?" Kara asked.

"Kara…"

Kara reached out, her thumb hovering over the pad. "If the pad turns red when I put my thumb on it, would you still be my friend? Would you ever speak to me again?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Lena said.

"Maybe you could make one to detect gay people next," Kara said. "Or what about one that detects learning disabilities. Mental illness. Genetic diseases.'

"Kara."

"Think of what companies would pay to be able to weed out undesirables during the hiring process. Don't hire trans people so you don't have to pay for their surgeries. Don't hire mentally ill people because they might need psychiatric leave. Don't hire people with a genetic predisposition for cancer because they'll need treatment and time off. Don't hire gay people, because the owner of the company doesn't want them there."

"Kara, I get what you're saying, but it's not the same," Lena said.

"How is it different, Lena?" Kara asked. "Tell me. If someone you cared about turned out to be an alien, would that really change the way you feel about them?"

"Kara, you're being unreasonable."

"Am I? I guess we'll find out," Kara said. She started to lower her thumb, but the sound of the text alert she'd set for Sara stopped her.

She got up and walked over to the living room and picked up her phone off the coffee table.

Sara: Selfie with Cleopatra!

There was a picture attached of Sara and Amaya standing on either side of a black woman with her hair in long braids. The woman herself was a little on the plain side, with skin just a touch lighter than Amaya's, but she wore an elaborate outfit trimmed in gold and Lapis Lazuli.

Her phone chimed, and another message popped up.

Sara: One More!

The same three people were in the picture, but this time, all three were doing a classic hieroglyphic pose right out of a bangles video, and Kara laughed.

Kara: I love it!

Sara: She likes the Bangles.

Kara let out a small squeal.

Kara: You didn't!

Sara: I did!

Kara: You're insane!

Sara: You know you love me.

The sound of the door slamming behind her made Kara turn around, only to find her kitchen empty, except for the box of donuts sitting forlornly on the table.

The alien detector was gone. She looked back down at her phone.

Kara: I've got to go. Have fun storming the pyramid.

Sara: Take care and kick ass.

* * *

Temporal Zone

It was around three in the morning when the phone rang. Normally, Sara would have been pissed, but since only one person actually had her phone number, she was worried. Kara usually texted her before she called.

"Hey, Kara," she said as she picked up the phone.

"Hey," Kara said, and it was obvious from the sound of her voice that she'd been crying. "I'm sorry to call without asking first."

"No. Don't apologize. You can call me any time you want."

"Thanks," Kara said. "I just…"

"What is it?"

"Lena and I had a fight," Kara said.

"Again?" Sara asked. "I thought you two weren't talking."

"We weren't," Kara said. "She came by to apologize."

"I'm guessing it didn't go well?"

"She started with 'I'm willing to concede,' and it kind of went downhill from there," Kara said.

"So, she didn't really want to apologize," Sara said. "She just wanted out of the dog house."

"Yeah," Kara said. "Your selfie with Cleo kind of came in the middle of the argument, and I might have kind of dropped everything to answer you."

"How'd that go over?"

"You remember when I said I had to go?"

"Yes?"

"She'd just stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door behind her."

"And you went storming after her," Sara said.

"I did," Kara said. "She'd already made it to her town car by the time I caught up with her, so I followed her to her hotel."

"You didn't," Sara said.

"I did."

"Lord, you know how to make a mess, don't you?"

"You're supposed to be comforting me," Kara said in a grumpy voice.

"I'm sorry," Sara said.

"I don't suppose you're in Central City?"

"You want to come over?"

"Please?"

"Text your sister, then meet me at the usual place."

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Monday, December 12th, 2016

"Ponytail," Snapper growled.

Kara looked up from the article she was writing. "Yes, sir?"

"Get over to LCorp. You're doing an exclusive with Lena Luthor."

Kara shook her head. "You should pick someone else. I don't think she'll let me in the building, much less talk to me."

"She called and asked for you," Snapper said. "Said we could send you over by noon, or she'd give the exclusive to Lois Lane, so get going. Because if Lois gets that story, I'll call the Puff Princess so she can fly back and fire you personally."

"Fine," Kara said, reaching for her bag. "But that means the piece on the labor dispute at the docks is going to be late."

"That's because you're an amateur who's got no business wearing a press pass. Now, get out of my sight."

* * *

Kara followed Jess into Lena's office, and pretty much wished she were anywhere else. The fight they'd had Saturday had been hard, and she was afraid that this would turn into a rehash of the same fight, which was a problem, because it could affect her job.

"Ms. Danvers to see you, Ms. Luthor," Jess said, to Lena, who was staring out the window with her back to the office.

"Thank you, Jess," Lena said. "That will be all."

Kara heard the slight crack in Lena's voice. The rough quality it got when she was upset, and she felt the glare Jess threw her way before she left. Kara took one of the seats in front of Lena's desk and took out her note pad and waited.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," Lena said.

"I wouldn't have, if you hadn't threatened my job," Kara said.

"I didn't," Lena said.

"'If she's not there by noon, I'll give the exclusive to Lois Lane' is a pretty effective threat when you work for Cat Grant," Kara said. "If I refused to come, I would have lost my job, and I don't have 'billionaire heiress' as a fallback career plan."

"I'm sorry," Lena said. "I didn't realize it would put your job at risk."

"Thinking about consequences doesn't seem to be your strong suit," Kara said.

"I suppose I deserve that," Lena said.

"Can you turn around?" Kara asked. "This talking to your back thing doesn't really work for me."

Lena sighed and turned around. Kara was a little taken aback at what she saw. Lena's eyes were bloodshot, and her face was red and puffy like she'd been crying.

"Lena?" Kara asked.

"I'm taking them off the market," Lena said.

"You are?"

"Yes," Lena said. "You'll leave here with a press release detailing how the product is being removed from the market due to a design flaw that could lead to false positives. A full recall will be issued, and all customers will be able to return them for a full refund. We'll also be shutting down the servers so that any units already deployed will be unable to function."

"Lena, that's great news!" Kara said.

"Yeah," Lena said. "You got what you wanted."

Kara sighed.

"Lena…"

"You should go," Lena said. "Jess has a copy of the press release. I'll give you a twenty-four-hour exclusive."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Kara said.

"Oh, I think I get it perfectly," Lena said.

"Do you have the detector you took from me here?" Kara asked.

"I asked you to leave," Lena said.

Kara reached up and took her glasses off, so she could use her X-Ray vision to scan the room. It only took a moment to find what she was looking for. She stood up and marched over to a cabinet set into the wall and jerked it open.

"What are you doing?" Lena asked.

"Finishing what I started," Kara said as she pulled Lena's purse out of the cabinet. She reached into it and pulled out the alien detector, and flipped the switch to the on position, then walked over to Lena's desk and sat it down.

"Do you want to know, Lena?" Kara asked. "Really? Because once I put my thumb on that pad, there's no going back."

"Kara," Lena said.

"If these are in the world, people don't get to choose," Kara said.

"I'm doing what you want," Lena said. "Why isn't that enough?"

Kara pressed her thumb down on the pad, which immediately turned red, and waited for Lena to look, but Lena just kept staring at her.

"Go on," Kara said. "This is what you wanted, Lena. To know who's an alien and who isn't. Go ahead and look."

Lena stared at her, and Kara could tell she was trying not to, that she didn't want to, but her eyes finally flickered down to the detector.

"I wanted to know if what you think of me would change if I were an alien," Kara said. "And now, I get to find out something about you, whether you want me to know or not."

She picked up the alien detector and shoved it in her bag, along with her pen and notepad, and headed for the door.

* * *

Kara walked into the alien bar and grabbed the first empty booth she came to. She took out her laptop, and connected to wifi, then logged into CatCo through the VPN. Once she was in, she opened the story she'd been working on when Snapper sent her to LCorp, rewrote half of it, then opened a word document, took out the press release Jess had given her, and typed up a story on the alien detector. The story she'd tried to write the first time, before Snapper had insisted on a 'balanced report'. Before she convinced herself that people had a right to know. Before she compromised herself to make the little troll happy. She didn't pull a single punch with either story. She told the truth, and then, because she was so far beyond caring, she used her log in, which no one had other gotten around to downgrading when she stopped being Cat's assistant, to push the stories out to the live server without any of Snapper's spineless editing. Then she fired off an email telling Snapper she'd filed both stories and would be out of office chasing a lead the rest of the day.

Once all of that was done, she waved M'gann over, and ordered something that would actually get her drunk.

* * *

Kara: Hey, Sara! :)

Sara: Hey.

Kara: Did you know I had a pet dragon growing up?

Sara: You did?

Kara: YEP! Her name was… Damn. This keyboard doesn't have the right letters.

Sara: Are you drunk?

Kara: NO!

Kara: YES!

Kara: I had the green stuff!

Kara: The green stuff makes me happy! :)

Kara: See! I'm happy! I used a smiley face, so I must be happy.

Kara's phone started ringing, and she stared at it, wondering why Sara wasn't texting her back.

Kara: Why aren't you texting me back?

Kara: Do you hate me too?

Kara: Everyone hates me.

Sara: I don't hate you, doofus. I'm trying to call you. Answer the phone.

Kara: Oh. That makes sense.

Sara: Answer the phone!

Kara frowned and answered the phone.

"Kara, where are you?" Sara asked.

"Sara! Hey! I was texting you, and you sounded mad," Kara said.

"I'm not mad. I'm just worried," Sara said. "Where are you?"

"Um… Someplace dark," Kara said.

"You're not alone, are you?" Sara asked.

"Course I'm alone," Kara said. "I'm always alone these days. Except when I'm with you."

"Kara-"

"Alex has Maggie. James and Winn are never around. Cat left. Clark was here for about five minutes before he left. Lena hates me. Snapper hates me."

"Kara, honey, where are you?"

"I'm where they have the green stuff," Kara said. "But you can't have any! It kills humans."

"Kara, sweetheart, please tell me where you are," Sara said.

"I like the green stuff," Kara said. "It makes me happy."

"Kara, promise me you'll stay right where you are, okay," Sara said.

"Can I come over to your place?" Kara asked.

"Sure, Kara. Just stay where you are, okay. Alex is on the way. She's going to bring you to me, alright."

"Okay," Kara said. "I like it when you put your head on my shoulder."

"I like that too," Sara said.

"I'm going to go to sleep now. Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Of course," Sara said. "Just wait right there. Alex is going to pick you up and bring you to me."

"Okay."

* * *

"Okay, so you want to tell me who the hell you are, and how you got into my sister's apartment?" Alex asked.

Sara sat at the table, her earlier panic abated by the fact that she could just look over and see Kara resting peacefully.

"I'm her friend," Sara said.

"Do you have a name?" Alex asked.

"I told you when I called. My name's Sara."

"Just Sara?" Alex asked.

"Captain Lance, if you're feeling fancy," Sara said.

"I'm not," Alex said. "How do you two know each other?"

"Met through a friend," Sara said.

"Which friend?" Alex asked.

"Barry Allen," Sara said.

"The guy from Earth 1 who dragged her off to fight an invasion?" Alex asked.

"I don't think anyone could drag Kara anywhere she didn't want to go," Sara said.

"How come I've never heard of you?" Alex asked.

"Maybe because you're too busy sucking face with your girlfriend to show up to sister night," Sara said.

Alex looked like she'd been slapped, which made Sara happy, because that was exactly the effect she wanted.

"I think it's time you leave," Alex said.

"I think I promised Kara I'd be here when she wakes up," Sara said.

"I got it covered," Alex said.

"If you had it covered, she wouldn't have been passed out drunk in a bar in the middle of the day," Sara said.

"I didn't see you there," Alex said.

"I was in another universe, hunting down an evil time-traveling speedster," Sara said. "What's your excuse?"

Alex glared at her, and Sara rolled her eyes. She stood up, toed off her shoes and started towards the bed.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked.

"To get some sleep," Sara said. "I'm probably going to be up half the night holding Kara's hair back while she pukes."

"She doesn't puke," Alex said.

"Oh, good," Sara said. "Less chance I'll wake up covered in barf."

"What?" Alex asked.

Sara ignored her as she reached the bed. She pulled the covers back and slipped under then. Kara immediately rolled over and threw an arm and a leg over Sara, clinging to her like a Koala. Sara just smiled and wrapped an arm around Kara, holding her close.

She never did get any sleep though. Alex sat on the couch and glared at her until Kara woke up.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Tuesday, December 13rd, 2016

"You made breakfast?" Sara asked.

"Seems like the least I could do," Kara said as she sat a stack of pancakes down in front of Sara.

"I thought you said you couldn't cook?" Sara said.

Kara took the seat opposite her. "I said I couldn't bake. Baking and cooking are two different things."

"Right," Sara said. She reached for the syrup and poured a bit over her pancakes. "I don't think your sister likes me very much."

Kara took the syrup and poured way too much over her own pancakes. "It takes her a while to warm up to people. Unless you're a five-foot zero lesbian cop, in which case she's ready to propose after a day and a half."

"Maggie wasn't that short," Sara said.

"You met Maggie?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Sara said. "She helped Alex get you into your apartment."

"Oh," Kara said. "I'm sorry. I don't really remember a lot past the fourth glass of rum."

"Do you remember why you were drinking in the first place?" Sara asked before taking a bite of her pancakes, which were surprisingly good.

"Lena," Kara said. "She kind of summoned me to her office."

"Did you ever just consider not going?" Sara asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "She told my boss that LCorp would give CatCo an exclusive, but she'd only talk to me. So, if I didn't go, I'd have lost my job."

"Same fight as before?" Sara asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "I did something stupid though. I got mad and told her I was an alien. I may have also gotten fired anyway."

"May have?" Sara asked. "What did you do?"

"I pushed a couple of stories to print without going through editorial first," Kara said.

"How serious is that?" Sara asked.

"Serious," Kara said. "At the very least, I abused my system privileges. I was just so mad I didn't care."

"I've had those days," Sara said.

"When do you have to go back?" Kara asked.

"Soon," Sara said. "I wish I could stay, but I've been away from the Waverider too long as it is."

"I like having you here," Kara said.

"I like being here," Sara said.

"Thank you," Kara said. "For calling Alex. And for being here when I woke up."

Sara smiled. "I liked the second part a lot better than the first."

"Yeah," Kara said. "I can see that."

"Promise me next time, you'll call me before you start day drinking?" Sara asked.

"Okay," Kara said.

* * *

"Ponytail," Snapper said as Kara walked into the bullpen. "Nice of you to finally show up to work."

"It's ten minutes to nine," Kara said, walking right past Snapper and pulling out her chair. "You want me here earlier, change my schedule." She sat down and fished her keys out of her bag so she could unlock her desk.

"That's a lot of swagger for someone who pulled the kind of stunt you did," Snapper said.

"I filed two stories I'd been assigned, both ahead of schedule," Kara said.

"You filed two pieces of biased crap," Snapper said.

"No. She filed two pieces of excellent journalism," Cat said from behind Kara.

Kara turned around, a huge smile on her face at the sight of Cat standing in the doorway to her office.

"The story on the alien detector was nothing but whining about how the aliens had been impacted by the alien detector," Snapper sad. "And the piece on the labor dispute was all about how the shipping companies were mistreating the dock workers. There was no balance."

"Oh, Snapper, I'm disappointed in you. It's sad to see someone with such a long and storied career forget the first truth of Journalism. If one person claims it's raining, and another person claims it's not, it's not our job to quote both sides and claim that's balance. It's our job is to look out the window and tell our readers the truth. Which is exactly what she did," Cat said.

"If I wanted another drone that could regurgitate soundbites packaged by press reps, I would have hired some two-bit hack with a journalism degree. She has the kind of passion and drive that's been missing from journalism for far too long. The kind you used to have. I hired you to nurture that. Not beat it out of her."

"Now, run along. You have a paper to put together. Kiera, a word?"

Kara stood up and followed Cat into her office.

"Close the door," Cat said.

Kara closed the doors and turned around to face Cat.

"If you ever pull another stunt like that, I will fire you myself. Do you understand me?"

"Absolutely, Ms. Grant," Kara said, not even trying to keep the enormous smile off her face.

"You could at least pretend to be scared of me," Cat said.

Kara laughed and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Cat tightly. "It's good to see you," she said.

Cat hugged her back. "It's good to see you too."

"Did I do good?" Kara asked.

"You did," Cat said. "I'm proud of you, Kara."

* * *

"So, Cat's back at CatCo?" Sara asked.

"Yeah," Kara said with a happy grin on her face. "She's not resuming all her old duties though. James is now Editor-in-Chief for CatCo World Wide Media. Cat will be CEO and editor of CatCo Magazine, but she's also going to be running a mentoring program for women and minority journalists."

"I'm guessing you're her first mentee," Sara said. "I'm happy for you, Kara."

"Thanks, Sara," Kara said. "And thanks again for yesterday."

"Hey, friends take care of each other," Sara said. "What? You're kidding."

"Sara?" Kara asked.

"Sorry, babe," Sara said. "I've got to go. Hannibal just won the second Punic War."

"Okay," Kara said. "Go be a hero."

"Talk to you soon," Sara said.

Kara ended the call, sat her phone down on the bedside table. She used a bit of super-speed to get into her pajamas, then climbed into bed, curling up on the left side.

She lay there, waiting for sleep, but without Sara there, it wouldn't come.

* * *

The Temporal Zone

Sara: Ancient Rome is back on track.

Kara: Awesome!

Sara: Hey, do you guys have Christmas on your Earth?

Kara: Yeah.

Sara: It's still December 25th, right?

Kara: Sure is.

Sara: Would you like to a do a Christmas light walk Friday night?

Kara: I'd love to.

Sara: Meet me at the Star City Botanical Gardens Friday at seven?

Kara: I'll be there!

Sara smiled as she locked her phone and sat it on the bedside table.

"Gideon."

"Yes, Captain Lance?"

"Make a note. I have to be at the Star City Botanical Gardens at seven o'clock Friday night."

"Of course, Captain Lance," Gideon said. "Is there anything else?"

"Not unless you can figure out a way to add a door from my bedroom to Earth 38," Sara said.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but that request is not something I can carry out at this time. The space-time displacement is easy enough to solve for. However, combining that with the interdimensional transit presents certain difficulties. If you would like, I could consult with Mr. Ramon and see if we could devise a solution," Gideon said.

"You really think you could come up with something?" Sara asked.

"Potentially," Gideon said. "I'm analyzing the physics involved and see no inherent conflict between transdimensional and spaciotemporal travel."

"Then call Cisco, and see if you can work something out," Sara said.

"Of course, Captain Lance," Gideon said. "And if I may say so, I find Ms. Zor-El's presence on the Waverider quite enjoyable."

"Me too, Gideon," Sara said.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Thursday, December 15th, 2016

Kara could feel the tension in the air as she carried the pizza over to the couch. Something in the way Alex was watching her. She wasn't quite a hundred percent sure what it was, but she had a pretty good idea. Fortunately, Alex didn't seem to be in a patient mood, because Kara had barely had time to get a slice of pizza on her plate before Alex said something.

"So, what's the deal with you and Sara?" Alex asked.

"What do you mean?" Kara asked.

"I mean, you've been spending a lot of time over on Earth 1," Alex said. "And then I get a call from Sara saying you're drunk, and I need to go pick you up. And when I get here, she's in your apartment."

"We met when I went over there to help Barry," Kara said. "After we got rid of the Dominators, Sara and I went out for drinks. We've been texting ever since."

"You're texting someone from another universe?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "I keep telling you WayneCom has better service than LexTel. You should totally switch."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I'm serious."

"Hi, Serious. I'm Kara."

"Dad jokes? Really?"

"Look. I don't want to make you feel guilty about spending time with Maggie so I haven't said anything, but I've been kind of lonely lately. James and Winn are off doing whatever it is they're doing, and things with Lena have been awful, and you've been spending all of your time with Maggie, which is fine, by the way, and I'm happy for you, but I just needed someone to talk to. And it's nice, talking to Sara, because I don't have to hide anything from her."

"Kara, I'm sorry," Alex said.

"Don't be sorry," Kara said. "Just… maybe don't skip any more sister nights."

"I think I can manage that," Alex said.

Kara smiled. "Good. Because I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Alex said.

"When? Between kisses?"

"No," Alex said. "I'm mostly thinking about the next kiss."

"Gross!" Kara said. "I do not want details!"

"Well, I do," Alex said.

"What do you mean?" Kara asked.

"I mean, I watched Sara crawl into bed with you the other night, and you kind of just rolled over and wrapped yourself around her," Alex said.

Kara blushed and looked down at her pizza. "We're just friends," she said.

"You sure she knows that?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "Why does this bother you so much?"

"I just don't want to see you hurt," Alex said. "I mean, you spent all that time mooning over James, and you guys dated for like, a week."

"I'm not going to get hurt," Kara said. "Sara's just a friend."

"Okay," Alex said.

"Good."

Alex smiled. "So, I thought maybe you'd like to have dinner with me and Maggie tomorrow. You know, get to know your sister's girlfriend and all."

"Um, I can't," Kara said.

"Why not?" Alex asked.

"Sara and I have plans."

"Oh."

"Saturday?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Alex said. "Let me check with Maggie, but if she's good with it, we could do Saturday.

* * *

Kara sighed in frustration. She'd been staring up at the ceiling for almost an hour, trying to get to sleep, and hadn't had any luck. Nothing had worked. Not hot chocolate, not hot chocolate with marshmallows, not counting sheep, not strawberry cheesecake. Not ice cream.

It wasn't even like she actually needed sleep. Her Kryptonian biology let her go weeks without. It was more of a comfort thing than anything else. A reminder of what it felt like to be normal. Tonight though, it just made her miss Sara.

She glanced over at the phone on the bedside table again, and finally gave in, picking it up.

Kara: Hey.

Sara: Hey.

Kara: You're up!

Sara: So are you.

Kara: Yeah. Couldn't sleep.

Sara: Me either.

Kara: What's keeping you up?

Sara: Work.

Sara: Time aberrations keep popping up all over the place. Easy ones to fix, and by the time we get there, The Legion of Doom is already gone. It feels like Thawn is just trying to keep us busy.

Kara: Supervillains suck.

Sara: You said it.

Sara: What about you? What's keeping you up?

Kara: I'm lonely.

Sara: Did Alex not show up again?

Kara: She showed up.

Kara: I can't believe you remembered it's sister night :)

Sara: Hey. Sister night is important.

Kara: You were a hot topic of conversation tonight.

Sara: Really?

Kara: Yeah. Alex wanted to know all about you.

Sara: Please tell me you lied.

Sara: If you told her the truth, I'm not sure there's anywhere safe for me.

Kara: Of course I told her the truth.

Kara: I told her you're my friend.

Sara: Okay. Just maybe leave out the part where I'm a trained assassin.

Kara: Alex would probably like that. She's pretty bad ass herself.

Sara: Well, maybe I'll get to meet her under better circumstances next time.

Kara: I don't know. Getting to cuddle up with you is pretty good circumstances.

Sara: Maybe not with your sister glaring at me half the night.

Kara: She did that?

Kara: No, wait. This is Alex. Of course she did that.

Sara: I get it. She loves you, and there's this perfect stranger crawling into bed with you while you're passed out drunk. It's probably a miracle she didn't shoot me.

Kara: When you put it that way, I'm actually surprised it took her this long to break out the thumb screws.

Sara: Damn. I have to go.

Kara: What's wrong?

Sara: The time quake alarm just went off. I've got to go fix history.

Kara: Be safe.

Sara: I'll try.

Kara: Will I still see you tomorrow?

Sara: Come hell or high water.

* * *

Star City (Earth 1)

Friday, December 16th, 2016

Kara smiled as she spotted Sara waiting for her at the gate to the botanical gardens. She was dressed in a heavy peacoat, a beanie, jeans and fur-lined boots, and looked absolutely adorable.

"Hey," Kara said as she approached, and Sara smiled at her.

"Hey, yourself," Sara said. She reached out, pulling Kara into a hug, and Kara hugged her back. "You have any trouble finding the place?"

"No," Kara said. "Apparently, Google Maps works on any Earth."

Sara laughed. "To bad it doesn't work in any time."

"Not an issue I have, but I can see how that would be a problem," Kara said. "Mostly, I complain that my phone can't keep up when I'm moving at Supersonic speeds."

Sara smiled as she adjusted the collar of Kara's coat. "You don't need to brag, you know. I'm already impressed." She reached down and took Kara's hand. "Come on. I've already got us tickets."

"Lead the way," Kara said.

Sara took a couple of steps backwards, pulling Kara along with her before she turned around and led them through the entry gate, and what Kara saw when they were inside took her breath away. Most of the trees had shed their leaves for the winter, but it looked like for every leaf that had fallen, a light had grown in its place.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Sara asked.

"It's amazing."

Sara gave her hand a little tug. "Come on. This isn't even the best part."

* * *

It took them about forty-five minutes to finish the walking trail , and Kara had loved every minute of it. She'd expected a good display of lights, but what she hadn't realized was that it wasn't just lights. The entire garden had been done up as a series of living Christmas trees. In addition to the strands of lights, there were dozens, maybe hundreds of ornaments hung from every tree, along with other decorations. Sara was always quick to point out the little hidden scenes. Elves loading toys into a bag. Reindeer napping behind a gazebo. Dozens of little details that just added to the scene.

But Sara was the best part of it. Kara wasn't really huge on Christmas. She liked it well enough. She put a lot of work into finding gifts for everyone, and planning a party for all her friends, but it wasn't something she was born into. Krypton's holidays were different, and as much as Kara might enjoy those of her adoptive world, they just didn't have the same emotional resonance for her. But watching Sara take so much joy in every little bit of it. Watching the guarded face she wore most of the time just slip away, replaced with an almost childlike playfulness, made the night special in a way she couldn't quite describe.

As they reached the end of the trail, Sara pulled her aside, and led her into a large courtyard, where she sat down on a strong wooden bench. Kara sat down beside he, and when Sara leaned against her, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to just wrap an arm around Sara and hold her close.

"Did you like it?" Sara asked as she rested her head on Kara's shoulder.

"I loved it," Kara said.

"Mom and Dad used to bring us here every year," Sara said. "It was always a big thing. Dad would take off work, and make sure he wasn't on call for the night. We'd all get bundled up and pile into the car and come here to see the lights. The arrangement is different every year, and Laurel and I would always have a contest to see who could spot the most things first, and when it was done, we'd go to the restaurant up by the gate and get hot chocolate and hot apple pie."

"It sounds wonderful."

"It was," Sara said. "This is the first time I've been back since I got on that boat."

Kara turned so she could see Sara's face. "Thank you. For sharing this with me."

Sara looked up at her. "I can't imagine anyone else who would understand what it means to me."

Afterwards, Kara wasn't sure which of them moved first, but it didn't really matter, because the moment their lips touched, it was like the whole world stopped, and for that moment, all there was in the entire multiverse was the two of them, and when the kiss ended, and the world started turning, it wasn't the same one they'd been on before. It was a new world, a better world, and Kara never wanted to go back.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Saturday, December 17th, 2016

Kara knocked on the door a second time, tapping her foot and waiting impatiently for it to open. She knew not everyone had super-speed, but the apartment wasn't that big. How long did it take to through on some clothes and come to the freaking door?

"Hold your fucking horses," a grumpy, muffled voice slurred from the other wise of the door.

Kara bit on her lower lip, wondering if this was a bad idea. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but maybe it wasn't. It wasn't like there was anyone else she could go to. Well, maybe Cat. No. Definitely not Cat. Cat would roll her eyes so hard that it would cause the earth's rotation to reverse and time to flow backwards to before Kara was stupid enough to take something like this to her. Which really only left one option.

"What the hell?" grumpy and muffled asked so softly that Kara only heard it because of her super-hearing, and she was tired of waiting, so she raised her hand and knocked again.

"Alright, already," Maggie said as she jerked the door open. "Why are you trying to break my door down at way too fucking early o'clock on a Saturday, little Danvers?"

"I need your help," Kara said without preamble.

"With what?" Maggie asked. A second later her eyes went wide. "Did something happen to Alex?"

"No," Kara said. "Alex is fine. You can not tell her I'm here though."

"Are you drunk again?" Maggie asked. "And how did you get my address?"

"No," Kara said. "And I had a friend hack the NCPD database and get me your personnel jacket. Are you going to invite me in or not?"

Maggie stepped back from the door. "Sure, come in. Have a seat while I go get my handcuffs so I can arrest you for the felony you just confessed to."

Kara stepped inside and Maggie closed the door. "I need your help."

"You mentioned that, right before things got stalkery," Maggie said.

"This is serious, and I don't know who else to go to," Kara said. "I mean, if I had a choice, I would go to someone else. Like, literally anyone else. But I don't exactly have a lot of time to go find someone else to help me with this."

"You're really selling me on this," Maggie said.

"Well, it's just you made a complete mess of it when Alex came out, so, you know, that's not a great recommendation, but I'm desperate, and Alex seems happy, and I don't exactly have time to go out and make a lesbian friend who can help, so here I am," Kara said.

"Kara-"

"Are you going to help me or not?" Kara asked.

"You still haven't told me what you need help with," Maggie said in an annoyed tone.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gay! Haven't you been listening?"

"Oh, lord. You too?"

"Apparently!" Kara said. "You've got to help me."

"Help you with WHAT?"

"Help me be gay! I don't know what I'm doing. I couldn't manage a straight relationship. How the hell am I supposed to manage a gay one?"

Kara looked at Maggie, who was staring back at her like she'd grown a second head.

"You want me to help you be gay?" Maggie asked.

"YES!"

Maggie reached up and pinched her nose between her eyes. "This is karma for all the girls I never called back in college, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Kara asked.

Maggie reached out and took Kara by the shoulders. "Kara, I need you to take a deep breath, relax, and start at the beginning."

"The beginning. Right. I can do that." Kara took a deep breath. "So, I went to Central City to help out a friend right after Thanksgiving."

"I think I remember Alex mentioning something about that. Go on."

"I met someone while I was there. A girl."

"Does this girl have a name?"

"Sara."

"Oh, Jesus Christ. You've got it bad. I can tell from the way you say her name."

"Yeah," Kara said. "We exchanged phone numbers, and we've been talking and texting ever since."

"Wait, is this the girl who called Alex about you being drunk?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Good taste. Go on."

"We went out last night, and I kissed her."

"You kissed her?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. Maybe she kissed me. I don't remember."

"Must have been some kiss."

"It was amazing! Her lips were so soft, and she tastes like peaches, and she made this little sound when I-"

"STOP!" Maggie yelled. "There will be no describing of little sounds she made, or what you did to cause her to make them."

"Okay, but what do I do?" Kara said.

"What do you mean?" Maggie said. "You already got her to kiss you, and from the sound of it, which I do not need to hear more of, it seems like it was a pretty good kiss. Just keep doing what you're already doing."

"That's the best you can do?" Kara asked.

Maggie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Kara, I am going to let you in on a little secret. This is not something lesbians share with non-lesbians, but since you've decided to join the club, I can let you in on the secret."

"Okay."

"None of us have any clue what we're doing," Maggie said. "I have no idea what made Alex fall in love with me. Any advice I give you is going to be worse than useless, because every time I actually went after a girl, it ended up a disaster. But if you really like this girl, and this girl really likes you, just tell her how you feel, spend as much time with her as you can, and do what you were already doing."

"Okay," Kara said. "Right. Keep doing what I'm doing. I can do that."

"Good," Maggie said.

Kara grabbed Maggie and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you!"

"Too tight!" Maggie squeaked.

"Sorry!" Kara said, letting her go. "Um…"

"What?"

"Can you maybe not tell Alex about this?"

"Honestly, Kara, when you leave, I'm going to go back to bed and do my best to convince myself that this was some kind of weird dream brought on by your sister's idea of date food," Maggie said.

"Oh, God. Please tell me she didn't take you to that place on Broadway and ninth."

"She did," Maggie said.

"Do you think you could get that place shut down for health code violations?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Maggie said with a grin. "You and me might get along after all."

* * *

Kara: Hey.

Sara: Hey yourself :)

Kara: How are you doing?

Sara: I'm doing amazing!

Sara: How about you?

Kara: I kind of had a tiny moment of panic this morning.

Sara: Oh.

Sara: Kara, if I did something I shouldn't have last night, we can just forget it happened.

Kara: NO!

Kara: Last night was amazing.

Kara: I just kind of freaked out because I got scared I'm going to screw this up.

Sara: Okay. Do not scare a girl like that!

Kara: Sorry.

Sara: Are you okay now?

Kara: Yeah. I went and talked to Maggie.

Sara: Maggie as in Alex's girlfriend Maggie?

Kara: Yeah.

Kara: She said I should just keep doing what I've been doing since it seems to be working.

Sara: I'm starting to warm up to Maggie.

Kara: LOL!

Kara: It sounded like good advice.

Kara: So, since I've been telling you all the stuff I can't tell anyone else, I'm just going to keep doing that, okay?

Sara: Okay.

Sara: I mean, it seems to be working for us.

Kara: It does.

Kara: So, the first thing I'm going to tell you is that I'm scared.

Sara: Why?

Kara: Because I think I love you, and I have a really bad way of losing people I love.

Kara: I don't want to lose you, Sara.

Sara: I wish I could promise you won't, but you know what our lives are like.

Kara: Yeah. I do. But there are other ways I could lose you, and those scare me more.

Sara: What do you mean?

Kara: I mean I'm terrible at relationships. Every time I've ever tried to date someone, it's been a miserable disaster.

Sara: Why?

Kara: Because I could never tell them the truth.

Sara: Not a problem we have.

Kara: Because I'm clingy.

Sara: Yeah. Like a little Koala :)

Sara: I actually like that part.

Kara: I'm being serious.

Sara: So am I.

Sara: I've been in love two times before Kara.

Sara: Once with Oliver Queen, who definitely did not love me back.

Sara: Once with Nyssa, who did love me, but cared more about her father's empire than she did about me.

Sara: So, you being a little clingy is something I like, because it reminds me that you actually love me and need me.

Kara: I do. I really, really do.

Sara: Good. Because I love you too.

Sara: Just do me a favor, okay?

Kara: Anything.

Sara: Keep being honest with me. Keep telling me all the things you can't tell other people. Even if they're about me. Especially if I do something to hurt you.

Kara: You wouldn't.

Sara: I would. I wouldn't mean to, but people in relationships hurt each other.

Sara: They don't mean to, but they do.

Sara: So, when I do something stupid. When I mess up and hurt you. You've got to tell me, so I can make it right.

Kara: Okay.

Sara: And I'll do the same when you mess up.

Kara: That might be a lot.

Sara: I'm okay with that, as long as I get to be with you.

Kara: Can you get tonight off?

Sara: I might be able to swing it.

Kara: I'm having dinner with Alex and Maggie around six, but I'd love to see you after.

Sara: What time?

Kara: Nine.

Sara: Usual place?

Kara: Sounds good.

* * *

Central City (Earth 1)

Sunday, December 18th, 2016

Sara woke up slowly, aware only of something warm and soft snuggled up against her, and how happy she felt because of it. She woke up reluctantly, wanting only to stay in her blissful little cocoon as long as possible. She woke up all at once as the feel of Kara running her thumb across the small band of exposed skin between the waistband of her pajama bottoms and her tank top lit a fire in places further south.

Suck sucked in a breath and heard a soft giggle from somewhere in the vicinity of her shoulder.

"Is that how it's going to be?" Sara asked.

"Yeah," Kara whispered, snuggling in a little closer. "I think it is."

"You didn't tell me you're an *evil* alien."

Kara laughed and squeezed Sara tightly. "Krypton needs women, and I have chosen you as mine!"

Sara laughed and hugged Kara back. "You'll never get away with this!" she declared in a dramatic voice.

"Really?" Kara asked as she shifted slightly so she could start planting feather-soft kisses along Sara's collar bone and up her neck. At the same time, she stroked her thumb along Sara's stomach, slipping it just under the waistband of her pajamas.

"Oh," Sara gasped. "You are diabolical!"

"You are my prisoner now, Earth Woman, and I will make you my willing slave!"

Sara broke down into a fit of giggles and Kara shifted again, climbing on top of her and kissing her like their lives depended on it.

When the kiss was over, Sara looked up at Kara in wonder.

"What did I do to deserve you?" Sara asked.

Kara smiled down at her. "I don't think this is about what we deserve," she said. "Love is a gift from Rao. A beacon to light our way in the dark places we must walk, and a wellspring of hope for those times when all seems lost. And you are Rao's gift to me."

Sara swallowed, a lump in her throat as she tried to absorb the weight of Kara's words.

"You're going to make me cry," she said.

"Can't have that," Kara said before she lowered herself down to claim Sara's lips.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Monday, December 19th, 2016

Kara sat at her desk in the bullpen staring blankly at the screen in front of her and trying her best to focus, but it just wouldn't come. No matter how hard she tried to think about work, her mind kept drifting back to Sara's cabin aboard the Waverider, and to what to felt like to touch Sara and be touched in return.

Coming back to Earth 38 had been hard, and she'd barely stepped through the breach before she'd wanted to turn around and go back. She hadn't been able to sleep, so she'd spent most of the night at her easel, filling canvas after canvas with her memories of Sara, until she'd filled every blank canvas she had, and had to run out to a twenty-four-hour Walmart for more.

She'd shown up to work with the smell of turpentine in her nose and the longing to be back in Sara's arms in her heart and hadn't been able to focus on a thing since.

She was so distracted that when the message alert chime on her computer sounded it made her jump a little. She glanced at the screen to see a message from Cat.

Cat: You're moping.

Cat: Stop it.

Kara: Sorry.

Kara: I'm trying not to.

Cat: I'm sure you are, but it's not working.

Kara: I know.

Cat: Dare I ask what is causing you to spend your well-compensated time looking like someone kicked a puppy?

Kara: You'll think it's ridiculous.

Cat: Undoubtedly. However, as your mentor, I do feel some small sense of obligation to look after your emotional well-being.

Cat: Come into my office and close the door. We'll talk about whatever is causing this annoying lapse in efficiency, and how to fix it.

Kara stared at the message from Cat, trying to keep the smile off her face. She locked her computer, grabbed her phone and headed to Cat's office. By the time she got there, Cat had taken a spot on the sofa on the side closer to the balcony. Once Kara had closed the door, she sat down across from Cat.

"So, what new bout of emotional turmoil is depriving me of the labor I am paying you for?" Cat asked. She said it with her usual attitude, filled with disdain and indifference, but Kara could see the worry written on her features, and it warmed her heart, because she knew there was no-one else Cat would do this for.

Kara took a deep breath while she organized her thoughts and tried to figure out how to explain everything without admitting she was Supergirl, but as she looked at Cat, she realized that she couldn't do it. Something about how open she'd been with Sara had made lying to people she cared about that much harder, and she'd already told Lena she was an alien, and Cat deserved the truth more than Lena had. Cat had stopped her from making an enormous mistake during Myriad. Cat had been the first one to forgive her after the Red K.

Cat who had already figured it out once.

"Do you remember Barry?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Cat said. "I admit, I was surprised I haven't heard more about him running around in his red suit."

"Well, he's kind of from another universe," Kara said. "The first time, he came by accident, but after Thanksgiving, he showed up and asked for help with an alien invasion on his Earth, so I went back with him, and we stopped the invasion and ran the aliens off."

"Funny," Cat said, a smile on her face. "You'd think he'd want Supergirl's help, but if the aliens were scared of a first-year reporter, who am I to argue."

Kara laughed, and shook her head. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?"

"Sat what?" Cat asked in feigned innocence.

"That I'm Supergirl," Kara said.

"Don't be ridiculous. I've seen you and Supergirl in the same room," Cat said, a teasing grin on her face.

"No, you saw me and the Martian Manhunter pretending to be Supergirl in the same room together," Kara said.

"So that's how you did it?" Cat asked. "I had wondered."

"That's how I did it," Kara said.

"So, you went to this other universe to help your friend," Cat said. "Why are you still moping three weeks later if you won?"

"I met someone while I was over there," Kara said.

"I see," Cat said. "I take it you're out there trying to work up the nerve to say hello?"

"Um, no," Kara said. "We're definitely past hello."

"Well, then, what's the problem?" Cat asked.

"It's just hard," Kara said. "I mean, the whole long-distance thing. If it was just Central City, I could fly up there any time I wanted, but she lives in a whole other universe, and that isn't even the most complicated part of it."

"She?" Cat asked, giving her an odd look.

Kara blushed a little bit. "Her name is Sara," Kara said.

"Oh," Cat said. "I didn't realize that you dated women."

Kara shrugged. "I didn't realize it until we kissed Friday night."

"And what does Sara do for a living?" Cat asked.

"Time-Traveling Ninja," Kara said.

"Let me make sure I have this right. You took time off from work to travel to another universe to help your friend fight off an alien invasion, but while you were there, you met a time-traveling ninja, realized you aren't a zero on the Kinsey scale, and now the two of you are dating, but you're out there moping because you can't spend as much time with her as you want?"

"Yes," Kara said.

"Well, it's definitely a step up from mooning over someone else's boyfriend," Cat said.

Kara frowned. "You're surprisingly calm about this."

Cat shrugged. "I grew up in Metropolis," she said. "It was weird even before your cousin showed up."

Kara laughed.

Cat smiled. "What you're going through right now is perfectly normal. You have all of these new feelings, and everything is heightened because you haven't learned how to fit your feelings for Sara into your emotional landscape yet. Once you do that, it becomes a lot easier to compartmentalize those feelings so that you can focus on other things when you need to."

"How do I do that?" Kara asked.

"Well, you don't rush off and get married," Cat said. "Take it from someone who made that mistake four times."

"Uh, no," Kara said. "I don't think there's a lot of danger of that. I mean, I'm an undocumented alien, and she's a legally dead time-traveling ninja from an alternate universe. It would take months just to figure out what paperwork we needed for the marriage certificate and filling it out would be a nightmare."

"You're joking, but new relationships can be intoxicating. Feelings can overwhelm you. That can be a good thing. You can make some of the best memories of your life right now, and I don't want to take that away from you. After all, I'm the one who told you to dive. But, Kara, people like us live intense lives. We make massive decisions at a moment's notice because we have to. And when people scream about how everything put in front of you is urgent, the temptation is to treat everything as urgent and immediate.

"Honestly, the best advice I can give you is to slow down. Breathe. And remember what I said before. You can have it all, just not all at once, and not right away. So, if Sara is what you want *now*, make her a priority *now*, or you'll regret it when you don't have her later."

"Wow," Kara said. "That is not the advice I expected you to give," Kara said.

"It's not the advice I would have given you when I left back in April," Cat said. "But my time away has changed my perspective. I left National City because I wasn't happy, and I didn't understand why. I thought I needed new challenges, new obstacles to overcome. But I was wrong. My time away made me realize I was missing the point. It's not about what we do. It's about who we love. The secret to happiness is human connection, and I had far too few connections. Far too few people I really cared about. Which is why I came back to National City. Because the list of people I love is very short, but you are very close to the top. And the reason I didn't take all my old duties back is because I want time to build a friendship with you, and a better relationship with Adam, and to spend more time with Carter. And I want to find other connections. Other people to reach out to.

"So, no, it's not the advice I would have given you eight months ago, but as hard as it no doubt is to believe, I am wiser than I was then. And I owe a lot of that to you. You changed me. You made me want to reach out to people again. To want to feel that connection.

"If Sara makes you feel that, if she makes you happy, if you love her, then protect that, cherish it, and don't trample it in your rush to get to some imagined finish line. Reach out to it, cling to it, and make it a priority, because if you don't do it now, by the time you realize your mistake, she may have already moved on."

Kara stared at Cat, overwhelmed by what she'd said.

"No crying," Cat said.

Kara laughed, causing one of the tears that had been brimming to spill down her cheek. She got up and moved around the coffee table and wrapped her arms around Cat, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you, Cat," she said.

"You're welcome," Cat said. "Now, we still need to address the moping."

* * *

Kara: Hey.

Sara: Hey :)

Kara: Little something to let you know I've thinking of you.

Kara smiled as she sent the photo of her, topless, lying across the desk in the office Cat had given her the day of her promotion. She sat back in her chair in that same office, waiting for a reply, but none came, and after five minutes, she was starting to worry.

Kara: Sara?

Kara: Did you not like it?

Sara: Hello, Ms. Zor-El. This is Gideon. I've taken the liberty of hacking into Sara's phone.

Kara: Why?

Kara: And where is Sara?

Sara: I'm afraid the answer to both of those questions is the same. Captain Lance is currently unconscious in the medical bay of the Waverider.

Kara: What? Why? How?

Sara: She walked into a bulkhead.

Sara: However, I can assure you she enjoyed your photo a great deal, for the short time she was conscious after receiving it.

* * *

Sara: Hey, babe.

Sara: It's Sara, btw.

Sara: Though I'm not sure why Gideon would be calling you babe.

Kara: Are you okay?

Sara: Yeah. Gideon can fix almost anything.

Kara: I am *so* sorry!

Sara: Don't be sorry! I loved it!

Kara: A little too much apparently.

Sara: I am a little jealous though.

Kara: Jealous?

Sara: Of whoever took that picture.

Kara: LOL!

Kara: It's a selfie, silly.

Kara: Superspeed has its advantages.

Sara: Oh!

Sara: Okay, I definitely approve of this use of your Superpowers.

Sara: In fact, if you wanted to do that again, I wouldn't object in the slightest.

Kara: I bet you wouldn't :)

Sara: Not that I'm complaining, but what inspired this?

Kara: I got the idea from Cat, believe it or not.

Sara: And we're back to jealous.

Kara: Not like that!

Kara: I was sad, because I miss you.

Kara: Cat noticed and asked what was wrong.

Kara: When I told her, she suggested finding things that would make us feel close to each other, even when we're apart.

Sara: That's actually really sweet of her.

Kara: I won't tell anyone you said that. Cat has a reputation to maintain.

Sara: I think I'm going to like Cat.

Kara: Now I'm jealous.

Sara: Of me or Cat?

Kara: Both?

Sara: You don't need to be.

Sara: I think about you all the time.

Sara: I know what I'm doing here is important.

Sara: But watching you walk through that breach is getting hard every time I do it.

Sara: And your offer gets more and more tempting every day, because I miss you too.

Sara: Every second we're apart, I miss you.

Kara: You're going to get me in trouble.

Kara: Because now I'm crying.

Kara: And Cat hates crying in the office.

Sara: I wish I could be there to wipe away the tears.

Kara: When/Where are you?

Sara: Sherwood Forrest, 1191 CE.

Sara: Did you know that Robin of Locksley was a woman?

Kara: Really?

Sara: Yeah. Dressed as a man to go on Crusade.

Sara: Also, great big lesbian.

Kara: And how did you come by that information?

Sara: I'm trying to teach her how to use a bow and arrow, because she's terrible at it.

Sara: She keeps skipping lessors to shag Marian, who definitely isn't a Maiden anymore.

Kara: LOL!

Kara: Any luck finding Rip?

Sara: No.

Kara: I'm sorry.

Kara: You'll find him. I know you will.

Sara: Thanks.

Sara: I've got to go. Robin is finally here.

Kara: Take care.

Kara: I love you.

Sara: I love you too.

* * *

The Temporal Zone.

Sara was sitting in a chair in the office at the back of the Waverider's bridge, her feet up as she stared at the monitor which displayed a map of all the places Thawn had led them, hoping to find some clue as to where he might pop up next, or where Rip might be. She was also thinking it would probably be a bit more helpful if she wasn't checking her phone every few minutes to see if there was a new text from Kara.

"Smiling again, I see," Amaya said as she stepped into the office. "You've been doing a lot of that lately."

"Have I?" Sara asked without looking away from the monitor.

"Yeah," she said. "Every time that phone chimes, or we land in Central City. Which we've been doing a lot."

It took all of Sara's control to keep from showing any emotion, because she'd been afraid this conversation was coming from the first night she brought Kara back to the Waverider.

"We're been working hard," Sara said. "It's good for the team to have some down time."

"You sure it doesn't have anything to do with how often Kara's been visiting?" Amaya asked.

"Has she been visiting?" Sara asked. "I hadn't noticed."

"Really?" Amaya asked.

Sara glanced over at her, and the moment she saw the look on Amaya's face, she broke down laughing.

"That was terrible, wasn't it?" she asked.

"It was pretty bad," Amaya confirmed with a grin.

"I knew it was a mistake as soon as I said it," Sara said.

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"If you and Kara are together, why even try to hide it?" Amaya asked.

"Because Rip is still missing. Because Thawn, Darhk and Merlyn are all still out there. Because I don't want the team to think that I've forgotten that we have a mission."

"Sara, no one is going to think that," Amaya said as she walked over and sat down next to Sara.

"Not even you?" Sara asked.

"I might have, a few months ago," Amaya said. "But I've seen how hard you work, and how much you care about us. I know how hard it was for you to let Darhk go in Chicago after what he did to your sister. Even to save Stein."

"There was never any question," Sara said. "As much as I want to kill Darhk, and as much as I hate Thawn and Merlyn, I'm not going to trade a member of this crew for my vendetta."

"See," Amaya said. "That's the Captain I know."

Sara looked back up at the monitor. "Maybe I'm a little afraid I think that about myself," she said.

"Why?"

"Because I stayed with the Legends after we finished our first mission because I wanted to find Darhk. I wanted to kill him, to change the timeline so Laurel never died. I don't know if I've let go of that yet, but when I'm around Kara, I don't feel so empty anymore. When Laurel died, it left this huge hole in my heart, and when I'm around Kara, it's still there, but it doesn't hurt as much. When I'm with her, I don't feel like I've been gutted anymore."

"That's a good thing," Amaya said.

"Is it?" Sara asked. She looked over at Amaya. "Because it feels wrong, being so happy when my sister is gone."

"It *is* a good thing," Amaya said. "Sara, you lost your sister. I lost a man I loved. But Laurel wouldn't be mad at you for being happy, any more than Rex would be mad at me for moving on. Our lives go on. They have to, because that's how we honor those we lost. We live the best lives we can. Love is a part of that. It makes us better versions of ourselves.

"And there's something else. Something losing Rex taught me. Something you should take away from losing your sister. You never know how much time you have. If you've found love, you should grab it, and hold on for as long as you can, because however much time you have, it will never, ever be enough."

"Thank you, Amaya," Sara said. "I think I needed to hear that."

Amaya smiled at her. "You're a good woman. Don't let your grief and guilt rob you of the chance to be a happy one too."

Before Sara could say anything else, the office filled with the text alert sound she'd set for Kara, and she felt her cheeks heat at the knowing smile on Amaya's face.

"You should get that," Amaya said.

"Yeah," Sara said. She reached for her phone as Amaya stood up.

"Love looks good on you, Sara Lance," Amaya said as she walked out of the office.

Sara watched her go, then looked down at her phone, laughing at the first message from Kara.

Kara: PUPPIES!

The message was accompanied by a picture of Supergirl holding two full-grown mastiffs. One in each arm, and both bigger than she was.

Sara: They're adorable!

Kara: Alex says I can't adopt them.

Kara: I say Alex is mean and no fun.

Sara: Alex is probably right, in this case.

Kara: WHAT?

Kara: You're supposed to be on my side!

Sara: Your side needs to include space for me in your bed.

Kara: We can get a bigger bed!

Sara: That might work for your apartment, but the bed in my cabin is mounted directly to the spaceframe.

Kara: I'm pouting.

Kara: See!

Sara laughed as a picture of Kara doing a surprisingly effective pout popped up.

Sara: You're better at the puppy dog eyes than the actual puppies.

Kara: It's a skill.

Sara: Why are you carrying around puppies?

Kara: Fire at a kennel.

Kara: I got to it before anyone got hurt.

Sara: That's because you are amazing.

Kara: I'm also lonely :(

Kara: I miss you.

Sara: I know. I miss you too.

Kara: I'm having a party on Christmas Eve.

Kara: Think you could make it?

Sara: You asking if I want to meet the friends?

Kara: Friends and family. Alex and Eliza will be there too.

Sara: That's a big step. You sure?

Kara: Absolutely.

Sara: Then I'd love to.

Kara: Think you could spend the night?

Sara: Yes.

Kara: I can't wait.

Kara: I love you.

Sara: I love you too.

* * *

The Temporal Zone

Sara dropped down onto her bed with an exhausted sigh. Today had sucked, and given the pattern it followed, she was starting to think Thawn was doing it on purpose to fuck with them. He kept breaking really horrible moments in history, forcing the Legends to fix things so those horrible things happened. They'd just finished stopping someone from murdering Christopher Columbus before his first crossing of the Atlantic, and it had made her sick, because the man was a monster who was responsible for all manner of atrocities, and she would have dearly loved to stick the knife in herself.

Sometimes, she really wished she could just leave history broken.

She stared up at the ceiling of her cabin, wondering which she wanted more. A scotch to wash away the bad taste in her mouth, or a shower to make her feel clean. She didn't really have the energy for either, but she knew she was going to have trouble sleeping. She really wished Kara was there, because she always slept better when Kara was there.

As if in answer to an unvoiced prayer, the text alert on her phone chimed, and like magic, her foul mood vanished and she couldn't stop herself from smiling as she reached for the phone.

Kara: Hey.

Kara: You okay?

Sara: I am now :)

Kara: Rough day?

Sara: Yeah.

Kara: Where/when are you?

Sara: Spain. 1492.

Kara: Sounds familiar, but I suck at Earth History.

Sara: Columbus.

Kara: The little guy in the tan trench coat with the cigar?

Sara: That's Columbo.

Kara: I thought Columbo was the guy that discovered America.

Sara: You're pulling my leg, aren't you?

Kara: Maybe a little :)

Sara: God, I love you for that.

Kara: I love you too.

Kara: Sounds like a really rough day.

Sara: Yeah. History sucks.

Kara: Thirteen through twenty-year-old Kara would agree with you.

Sara: I'm more interested in twenty-six-year-old Kara.

Kara: She thinks you're hot and wants you to kiss her.

Sara: You have no idea how much I want that too.

Kara: Can I call?

Sara: Please.

The phone rang and Sara immediately accepted the call.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Kara said. "You sound tired."

"I'm exhausted," Sara said.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Kara asked.

"Can't sleep," Sara said. "Never can on days like this."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could be there with you."

"I know," Sara said. "Just hearing your voice is wonderful."

"I'm really looking forward to this weekend," Kara said.

"Me too," Sara said. "Tell me about your day?"

"It was pretty good," Kara said. "Cat's started bringing in other mentors for the program. She's managed to hire Vicki Vale away from the Gotham Herald, so I got to meet her today."

"Sounds fun."

"You have no idea who Vicki Vale is, do you?" Kara asked.

"None whatsoever," Sara said.

Kara laughed. "What about Lois Lane?"

"Oh, yeah," Sara said. "Cat Grant's wife."

"WHAT?" Kara asked.

"I'm guessing not on your Earth?" Sara asked.

"No," Kara said. "Lois is dating my cousin."

"Parallel universes are weird," Sara said.

"Yeah," Kara said. "I noticed that."

"Kara?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm so tired."

"You need to go to sleep?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Sara said.

"I'll let you go."

"No," Sara said. "Can you stay? Please. Just talk to me until I fall asleep?"

"Of course. What should I talk about?"

Sara put her phone on speaker and laid it on the bed beside her. "Tell me about Krypton."

"It was beautiful," Kara said. "I grew up in Argo City, which was one of the four cardinal cities. It was called the City of the Long Twilight because…"

Sara smiled as she grabbed the spare pillow and curled up with it in her arms, rolling on her side so the phone was in front of her. She closed her eyes as she listened to Kara talk, pretending it was Kara she held in her arms as the soft sound of Kara's voice helped her drift off to sleep.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Thursday, December 22nd, 2016

Kara and Alex were about half way through an episode of Homeland when the text chime sounded. Kara normally ignored any alerts which weren't from the DEO during sister night, but the chime was the one she'd set for Sara, so she pulled out her phone and checked.

Sara: Why is my life so strange?

Kara: Because you're a professional time-traveler.

Sara: Don't confuse me with facts, logic and reason.

Kara: What happened?

Sara: I got groped by Jane Austen.

Kara: THE Jane Austen.

Kara: Like, Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen?

Sara: The very same.

Sara: Handsy bitch.

Sara: You're laughing, aren't you?

Kara: I'm sorry! I can't help it.

Sara: Fine. Mock my pain.

Kara: Well, you go right back to Jane and you tell her that I said to keep her grubby mitts off my girlfriend.

Kara realized what she'd just typed a split second after she hit send.

"Oh, God," she said.

"Kara?" Alex asked.

Kara looked up at Alex, and back down at the phone, completely mortified.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

"Um…" she sputtered, but a new message appeared before she said anything else, and relief flooded through her.

Sara: Your girlfriend, huh?

Sara: I kind of like the sound of that.

Kara smiled so hard it felt like her face might split open.

Kara: So do I.

Sara: You think maybe your girlfriend could get a date tomorrow night?

Kara: Yeah.

Kara: I think she could.

Sara: Your universe or mine?

Kara: Mine.

Kara: Play your cards right, and you might even get invited to spend the whole weekend.

Sara: I'm liking this plan.

Sara: In fact, what are you up to right now?

Kara: It's sister night, so I'm supposed to be watching TV with Alex.

Sara: Oh. Sorry!

Kara: It's okay, and I like the way you think, but after the way I grumped at Alex about skipping sister night, I can't really blow her off.

Sara: I understand.

Kara: That's because you're a wonderful girlfriend.

Sara: Yes, I am.

Kara: And humble too.

Kara: I should probably get back to it. The side-eye is reaching epic proportions.

Sara: Go on. Love you.

Kara: Love you too.

Kara locked her phone and put it away before looking up at Alex. It took her a second to realize that Alex had paused the show.

"Is that Sara again?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Kara said.

Alex made a good effort, but Kara knew her too well, and could see the frown she was fighting to keep off her face. She hated that she was responsible for making Alex frown in the first place, and knew she needed to tell her the truth before the Christmas party. She already felt guilty about the fact that Alex wasn't the first one she'd told, and the two of them had been through so much together and were too close for Alex to find out in front of everyone.

She reached out and took the remote from Alex and turned off the TV.

"We should talk," she said.

"I've kind of been getting that vibe for a while now," Alex said.

"I know," Kara said. "You know when I said that Sara and I are just friends?"

"Yeah," Alex said.

"That kind of changed. Or maybe it wasn't ever really true, and I just didn't realize it."

Alex gave her a smile full of sympathy and understanding.

"It's confusing, isn't it?" Alex said.

"*SO* confusing," Kara said.

"Does she know how you feel?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "We went out last Friday and did a Christmas light walk. There was kissing." She smiled and blushed a little. "So much kissing. And after dinner with you and Maggie Saturday, I spent the night with her."

"Oh," Alex said. "That's… You're moving pretty fast, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little. I mean, I haven't known her as long as you've known Maggie, but you'd only known Maggie a few weeks before you came out to me."

"Still…"

"Well, how long did you and Maggie wait?" Kara asked.

"Um… She hasn't… I mean, we haven't, yet."

"Oh," Kara said.

"I mean, I want to. It's just, Maggie wants to take things slow."

"Which is totally okay," Kara said. "There's not anything wrong with waiting."

"Yeah. I know," Alex said.

"I'm sorry. I'm messing this all up."

"No. No. I'm just surprised is all. I mean, you were so into James for so long," Alex said.

"Yeah," Kara said. "Right up until I could actually have him."

"Oh, God," Alex said. "I used to do that too."

"You totally did," Kara said.

"How are you so much calmer about this than I was?" Alex asked.

"About the whole being gay thing?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Alex said.

"I'm not. I mean, I am now, but I totally freaked out Saturday morning, and then I think I freaked out Maggie, and maybe Cat."

Alex's face fell. "You told Maggie and Cat?" Alex asked, and Kara winced at the hurt in her voice.

"I panicked," she said. "I was so happy at the end of the night Friday, and then I got home, and I just freaked out, because I don't know anything about how to be gay, and I needed to talk to somebody, and aside from you, I only know two lesbians, and Maggie is a lot less scary than Susan."

"Why didn't you come to me?" Alex asked, the hurt even clearer in her voice this time.

"I wanted to," Kara said. "As soon as I breached home, I wanted to call you and tell you about it. I wanted to tell you how happy I was, and I wanted to tell you how kissing her feels like flying, and how the whole world just seems to stop when I'm around her, and how safe I feel in her arms, and how she tastes like peaches and how she smiles after every kiss. I wanted to tell you everything, but it just felt selfish."

"Selfish?"

"Yeah," Kara said, looking down at the floor. "Alex, you just came out. You are going through this whole wonderful, terrifying process of finding out who you are, and what that means, and I don't want to do what I did when we were kids. What I always do. I don't want to make this about me. You deserve better than that."

Alex reached over and took her hand. "Look at me."

Kara looked up at Alex, not sure what she expected.

"You are my sister, you are my best friend, and you are my favorite person in the whole world. And you are never, ever a burden to me. I don't ever want you to think that there is anything that you can't come to me about, or anything I wouldn't do for you. You understand?"

Kara nodded, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "Yeah."

"Come here," Alex said, pulling Kara into a hug. Kara hugged her back as tight as she dared.

"You have to let me tell Mom though," Alex said.

Kara laughed. "Okay, but Mom's got to stay at your place for the weekend."

"What?" Alex let her go and leaned back so she could see Kara's face.

"Sara's coming over tomorrow night, and she's staying through Christmas day," Kara said.

"But-"

"You just said there wasn't anything you wouldn't do for me," Kara said.

Alex's glared at her and narrowed her eyes. "You little sneak."

Kara smiled. "I learned from the best, 'Miss I've been sorted into Slytherin by every sorting hat quiz on the internet.'"

Alex laughed. "So, what was that little panic moment when you were texting her?"

"I accidently called her my girlfriend," Kara said.

"How'd that go over?" Alex asked.

"She was into it," Kara said.

"Do I need to pencil in time to give her a shovel talk?" Alex asked.

"NO!" Kara said.

"I think I might," Alex said.

"Alex, no," Kara said. "She's a literal ninja."

"Seriously?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "She's totally a bigger bad ass than your girlfriend."

"You take that back, right now," Alex said.

"Nope," Kara said.

"Kara, I am warning you…"

"She has a space ship that can time travel, Alex," Kara said.

"So? Maggie's got a Triumph Bonneville T100."

"Sara came back from the dead," Kara said.

"I hate when you win," Alex said.

Kara beamed.

"I still can't believe you told *Cat* before you told me."

"That was not my fault! She took one look at me, dragged me into her office, and tortured it out of me!"

Alex snorted. "And I bet you just hated that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Alex said. "Now, tell me all about this kiss that turned my little sister gay."

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Friday, December 23rd, 2016

Kara pulled up Clark's number and hit send, hoping she wasn't too late to get what she needed.

"Hey, Kara," Clark said when he answered.

"Hey, Clark," Kara said. "I need a favor."

"Sure," Clark said. "What do you need?"

"I need to borrow the Fortress for the night," Kara said.

"Kara, you're always welcome at the Fortress. You know that."

"Yeah, but I need to you *not* be there," she said. "Like, if the universe is ending, can you go to the Batcave instead?"

"Um, why?"

"Just do, okay," Kara said.

"Kara, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I just need the Fortress."

"Kara," he said.

"I have a date," Kara snapped. "And I don't want you walking in while we're… busy."

"OH!" Clark said.

"Yeah. Oh."

"I thought you and James broke up," Clark said.

"We did," Kara said. "This has nothing to do with James."

"Oh. Um… Kara, the Fortress is yours as much as it is mine, but are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Kara said. "Clark, this isn't some random date. This is someone really special."

"Okay," Clark said. "I'm sorry. You just threw me for a loop. I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

"It kind of threw me for a loop too, baby cousin," Kara said.

"When do I get to meet this really special someone?" Clark asked.

"Tomorrow night, if you and Lois come to my Christmas party," Kara said.

"We can do that," Clark said.

"I'll see you then," Kara said. "And remember…"

"If the world is ending, go to the Batcave. I got it."

"Universe, Clark. I said universe."

* * *

"You know, I love Christmas as much as the next girl, but the North Pole might not be the best spot for a date in the middle of winter," Sara said as they touched down.

"This isn't the North Pole," Kara said. "We're in the Osborn Range on Ellesmere Island in Northern Canada."

"That makes the fact that I'm freezing my tits off so much better."

"I won't let that happen," Kara said as she leaned down and picked up the key to the Fortress. "I like your tits right where they are."

"What is that?" Sara asked.

"Key to my cousin's bachelor pad," Kara said. She inserted the key into the lock. The door to the Fortress opened. Kara set the key down, took Sara's hand, and led her inside.

"Wow," Sara said as they stepped into the entrance hall.

"You like it?" Kara asked.

"It's beautiful," Sara said.

"It's all that left of Krypton," Kara said.

Sara looked over at her. "This is Kryptonian?"

"Yeah," Kara said. "Kal's parents included a Sunstone in his pod with the Fortress design preprogrammed in. All he had do to was find a good, sold bit of rock and drop it on the ground. The Sunstone did most of the work."

Sara turned around and took another look.

"Who are they?" she asked, pointing at the two enormous statues holding the globe of Krypton.

"That's Kal's Parents. My Aunt Lara, and my Uncle Jor," Kara said.

"No statues of your parents?"

Kara shook her head. "Kal built this place when he was eighteen. That was while I was still lost in the phantom zone. Kal didn't find out I was alive for another six years, and it was twelve years after that before I even set foot in here."

"Besides, I remember my parents as people. Kal never really got to know his biological parents. They're more an idea to him, than anything. If I put up a statue of my Dad, it would probably be of him burning dinner, and the one of my mom would be wearing mismatched shoes."

Sara laughed and squeezed Kara's hand. "Those are always the best memories," Sara said. "When I think of Laurel, I always think of peanut butter and popcorn."

"Popcorn?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Sara said. "Mom used to make peanut butter popcorn balls on Halloween. Laurel and I both loved them, but Laurel could burn a pot of water. After a while, she gave up trying to make the popcorn balls with the brown sugar and the corn syrup and just dipped her popcorn in peanut butter and smushed the pieces together. After a while, she got me doing it too. We'd just sit in the house on Sunday nights, watch horror movies and eat popcorn and peanut butter."

"It sounds wonderful," Kara said.

"Yeah," Sara said. "I miss her. God, so much."

Kara pulled Sara into a hug.

"I'm sorry," Sara said. "I turned our date into a weepy mess."

"It's okay," Kara said. She placed a kiss on Sara's cheek. "If you want to cry, I'm here for you." She pulled back so she could see Sara's face. "But if you like, we could go see the zoo. That always makes me feel better."

"Zoo?" Sara asked. "This place has a Zoo?"

"Of course," Kara said.

* * *

"You really go all out when you plan a date, don't you?" Sara asked as she looked around the large den.

There was a fireplace near the couch she was sitting on, and a coffee table in front of it. An eight-foot Christmas tree was sitting in one corner, covered in decorations, and music drifted out softly from hidden speakers.

Kara walked in front the small kitchen off to the side carrying two large mugs of streaming hot chocolate.

"Well, not all of us can be Jane Austen," Kara said as she sat down and passed Sara a mug. "Some of us have to work for it."

Sara took Kara's free arm and wrapped it around her shoulders and leaned into Kara, resting her head on Kara's shoulder.

"You really don't," Sara said. "I mean, don't get me wrong. This place is amazing. But I would have been just as happy sitting on the couch in your apartment. I love you, Kara. Your powers and your fancy alien ice Fortress are just a nice bonus."

Kara smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Sara's head.

"I love you, too," she said.

Sara lifted her head enough to take a sip of her hot chocolate, and Kara waited until she'd swallowed and settled her head back against Kara's shoulder.

"The dragons were cool though, right?" Kara asked.

"Oh, yeah," Sara said with a huge grin. "The dragons were cool."

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Saturday, December 24th, 2016

"Are you pouting?" Sara asked as she sat another cookie sheet filled with perfectly baked cookies in front of Kara.

"No," Kara said with a pout. "Why would I be pouting?"

Sara leaned down and kissed Kara on the cheek. "Because you, my love, cannot bake to save your life."

"Aren't girlfriends supposed to be supportive?"

"Yes," Sara said as she walked back over to the kitchen and began putting the next batch of cookies on the cookie sheet. "But honesty is important in a relationship."

Kara looked at Sara, then looked down at the piping bags she was using to decorate the cookies, then back up at Sara, who was staring at her with her eyes narrowed.

"Don't even…"

"…think about it," Sara said.

"Think about what?" Kara asked, biting back laughter at the perfect lips she'd drawn on Sara's cheek in red and black icing with a little burst of super speed.

"I've got my eye on you Zor-El," Sara said.

* * *

"You forgive me yet?" Kara asked as they got out of the car.

"No," Sara said, but Kara could see a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"How long are you going to be mad at me?" she asked as she walked around the car.

"Until Tuesday," Sara said.

Kara slipped her arms around Sara. "Tuesday, huh?" she asked.

"Yes," Sara said.

Kara leaned in and placed a soft, slow kiss on Sara's lips.

"How about now?" Kara asked.

Sara smiled at Kara. "Monday," she said before leaning in for another kiss.

* * *

"You said seventy-five, right?" Kara said.

"Yes ma'am," the guy behind the counter at the tree farm said.

"Okay," Kara said. She handed over her credit card, and waited as he swiped it, then took it back and put it in her wallet.

"The north field hasn't been picked over as much," he said.

"Thanks for the heads up," Sara said.

Kara signed the credit card slip and handed it back to him as Sara picked up one of the hatches on the counter.

"You ladies need any help cutting the tree?" he asked.

Kara and Sara turned and looked at each other, and both of them burst out laughing.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Sara said.

"I know," Kara said.

"I'm a fully-trained member of the League of Assassins."

"I know."

"I'm the acting Captain of a time ship."

"I know."

"I can rebuild a time engine from spare parts."

"I know."

"I can rewire a class nine AI."

"I know."

"You're the youngest person ever accepted into the Kryptonian Science Guild."

"I know."

"You're from a civilization that's had space flight for fifteen thousand years."

"I know."

"Then how is a Christmas tree stand kicking our asses?"

"I don't know."

"How did you set up the tree at the Fortress?"

"I got the robot to do it."

"Well, how do you normally set up the tree?"

"I wait for Alex to show up and get her to do it."

Sara looked at her, then looked at the Christmas tree stand, then looked back at her.

"You want to give up and go make out on the couch until Alex, Maggie and Eliza show up?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Kara was flushed and out of breath when she opened the door to find an annoyed Alex, an amused Maggie and a concerned Eliza waiting.

"What took you so long?" Alex asked.

"Um… we… um… I mean…"

"We fell asleep on the couch," Sara said as she walked up behind Kara. "It's been a busy day."

"Totally," Kara said. "We baked. There was so much baking. And we got the tree, so there was that, and, um…

Sara reached up and placed a hand on the small of Kara's back, and Kara immediately felt herself relax the knot of nerves in her stomach just melting away at Sara's touch. She glanced over at Sara, giving her a smile before she turned back to the door.

"Eliza, this is my girlfriend, Sara Lance," Kara said, pride in her voice.

Eliza smiled and held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sara," Eliza said.

Sara took Eliza's hand, giving it a small shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you too," she said. "Kara, why don't we invite them in?"

"Oh!" Kara said. "Of course. Come in."

She and Sara stepped back, making room for Alex, Maggie and Eliza to slip by. Alex and Maggie went first, a fact Eliza took advantage of to pull Kara into a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you, sweetheart," Eliza said.

"Thank you," Kara said.

Eliza pulled back and patted Kara on the shoulder. "Your shirt's on inside out , dear."

Maggie and Sara both took one look at the color on Kara's face and burst out laughing.

* * *

The tree stand was up, finally. It turned out having all the pieces helped. And Alex and Maggie were busy unloading the car while Kara unpacked the ornaments. Sara was sitting on the couch, stringing popcorn and cranberries on a needle and thread to make a garland.

Eliza took the Christmas tree lights from Kara and walked over to the couch, sitting down on Sara's left side where she started untangling the strands of lights.

"So, Kara tells me you're from Starling City," Eliza said.

"In a roundabout sort of way," Sara said. "I grew up there. Went to college in Metropolis for about two years. Spent a year living on a cargo ship. Not my choice. Spent another year living on an Island in the North China Sea. Also not my choice. Spent two years in Afghanistan, and two more years based there while I traveled for work, then about a year and a half in Starling City. I went back to Afghanistan for a while, then back to Star City for a bit. These days, I'm based out of Central City, but I spend most of my time travelling around a lot for my job."

"What sort of work do you do?" Eliza asked.

Sara glanced over at Kara, who gave her a small nod. She turned back to Eliza.

"I'm in the same line of work as Kara," Sara said. "Not CatCo. Her side job."

"Oh," Eliza said. "Is that how you two met?"

"Yeah. It's a little complicated, but there were aliens and a bomb. It was a thing."

Eliza laughed. "There are always aliens when Kara is involved."

Sara smiled. "I admit, I had noticed the trend."

"Do you have any family?" Eliza asked.

Sara stiffened.

"I'm sorry. Is that a sore subject?"

"No," Sara said. "It's just complicated. We lost my sister in April. My dad fell off the wagon, and he's not far enough along in rehab to get visitors. My Mom just got remarried, and the step and I don't really get along."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," Eliza said.

Before Sara could answer, Kara was there. She sat down on Sara's right side and wrapped an arm around her.

"You okay?" Kara asked.

Sara leaned over and kissed Kara on the cheek. "I'm fine," she said. "This is much easier than what I went through with my last girlfriend's dad."

"You say that now," Kara said, "but just wait until she catches you raiding the chocolate supply."

"You had already eaten six pounds," Eliza said.

Kara shook her head sadly and gave Sara a very earnest look. "I know she has a point, but in eleven years, I've never figured out what it is."

* * *

Maggie stood there, glaring at the undecorated upper reached of the tree.

"Did you get the largest tree on the lot just to impress your girl Little Danvers?" Maggie asked.

"She didn't need to," Sara said from where she was taking a cake out of the oven. "I was already impressed."

"Okay, I am suddenly very uncomfortable with the direction this conversation is headed," Alex said.

"That wasn't what I meant," Sara said, "but I don't have any complaints there either."

"You know that's my little sister, right?" Alex asked.

"Yep."

"You also know I carry a gun, right?" Alex asked.

"Yep."

Alex narrowed her eyes.

"I've got my eye on you, Lance," Alex said.

Sara smiled and looked over at Kara, who smiled right back.

"You two are…"

"…up to something," Alex said, completely unaware of the bright yellow frowny faces now decorating her cheeks.

Kara and Sara both burst out laughing.

"Kara Danvers, how many times have I told you, no using super-speed to play pranks on your sister?" Eliza asked.

All four of them were completely unprepared for Maggie's reaction.

"Holy shit! You're Supergirl?"

All four of them turned to Maggie, who was staring at Kara in shock.

"Oops," Sara said.

* * *

"You're not mad at Alex for not telling you, are you?" Kara asked as she took a seat next to Maggie at the dining room table.

"No," Maggie said. "I get it. I'm just embarrassed that I didn't figure it out."

"Well, I do have a pretty good disguise," Kara said.

"They're glasses, Kara," Maggie said.

"No, they are *awesome* glasses," Kara said.

"I've got to agree with her on this one," Sara said as she stepped up behind Kara. She leaned down and kissed the top of Kara's head. "Very 'sexy librarian'."

Kara and Maggie both laughed.

"I can hear you!" Alex called out from where she was sitting on the couch, helping Eliza make a construction paper chain for the tree.

Sara leaned down and wrapped her arms around Kara and kissed her cheek.

"I'm going to go up to the roof for a few minutes," Sara said. "Check in with Gideon and make sure Mick hasn't set the ship on fire. Love you."

"Love you too," Kara said.

* * *

Kara stepped up behind Sara and wrapped her in a tight hug as she rested her chin on Sara's shoulder.

"You okay?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Sara said. "I just needed a second."

"Was Alex getting to be too much?" Kara asked.

"No!" She said. "Well, yes, but she didn't do anything wrong. She just…"

"Reminded you of Laurel," Kara said.

"How did you get to know me so well?" Sara asked.

"I remember what it was like when the loss was still fresh, and something would remind me," Kara said.

Sara leaned back against Kara's chest and rested her head on Kara's shoulder.

"Can we just stay here for a few minutes?" Sara asked.

"We can stay as long as you like," Kara said. She pressed a kiss to Sara's cheek. "I wish I could tell you it gets better.

"But you're a terrible liar," Sara said.

* * *

Kara and Sara stepped back into her apartment, and Kara was more than a little surprised by how many people were in the room. It looked like most of the guest list had arrived in the forty-five minutes or so they'd been up on the roof, and she tried to decide who she should introduce Sara to first when the decision was taken from her.

"Fashionably late to your own party, Kara? It looks like you *did* learn something while you were working for me, after all," said an unmistakable voice, and Kara turned around to see Cat standing in the doorway behind her.

"Well, you know me, Cat," Kara said. "Always the overachiever."

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Cat asked as she stepped inside and closed the door.

"Of course," Kara said. "Cat, this is my girlfriend, Sara Lance. Sara, this is Cat Grant, CEO of CatCo Media, and one of my bosses, and one of the leading contestants for the title of best-dressed woman on the planet."

"Don't forget your favorite billionaire," Cat said.

"Not as impressive a title as it sounds. I only know five billionaires. Two of them have tried to kill me on multiple occasions, one makes me eat vegetables when we go out for lunch, and one is Bruce Wayne," Kara said. "It's almost a win by default."

Cat smiled, letting Kara know she approved of the return volley, and Kara couldn't stop herself from grinning.

"So, how did you to lovebirds meet?" Cat asked.

Sara glanced over at Kara, and Kara gave her a small nod, so she turned back to Cat.

"You know how it is," Sara said. "You meet when a race of hostile aliens are up to evil shenanigans. There are fights, explosions, mind control, a really, really big bomb. You save the world, go for drinks, and end up flirting in a bar full of cheap booze and bad life choices."

"Sounds like how I met my second husband," Cat said.

"Is he the one whose hair caught fire during a performance?" Kara asked.

"No, dear, that was number three," Cat said. She turned to Sara. "Sadly, my taste in men is not nearly as good as my taste in fashion."

"I'd say good ones are hard to find, but impossible is probably closer to the truth," Sara said.

"True," Cat said. "Unfortunately, it's been my experience with women that you often miss the signs that they're even an option until someone else has come along and snatched them up."

"I understand what you mean," Sara said. "That's why, when you do find someone special, you would do anything you could to make them happy."

Kara glanced back and forth between Cat and Sara, sure she was missing some undercurrent in the conversation, but having no idea what it was .

"Well, I should let you two make the rounds," Cat said. "I'll just see if I can find a house to drop on Lois."

Kara laughed and reached out, touching Cat's arm gently. "Be nice," she said. "It's Christmas."

"Well, I suppose I can be civil. After all, I am a guest in your home," Cat said.

Kara smiled as she watched Cat wander off.

"I can see why you like her," Sara said.

The smile on Kara's face got even wider, and she took Sara's arm. "Come on. Let's go meet everybody."

* * *

Kara sat on the couch next to Clark, watching as Sara, Alex, Lucy and Maggie had a friendly argument over the best kind of knife to have in a knife fight. Alex and Lucy were arguing over something called a Yarborough knife vs a Kabar, while Maggie favored automatic knifes because they were easier to carry, and Sara insisted that the best knife was one you made yourself.

"You know they're going to end up arm wrestling before the end of the night, right?" Clark asked.

"Do you mean Sara and Alex, or Cat and Lois?" Kara asked.

"I'm honestly not sure," Clark said. "But I'm happy for you, Kara. Sara seems like an amazing woman."

"She is," Kara said, "and I am unbelievably lucky to have her."

* * *

"You need a hand with that?"

Sara looked up briefly at the well-built middle-aged black man standing next to her, then back down at the huge pan she was lifting from the oven. "I've got it, thanks." She lifted the pan out of the oven and sat it on the counter, then closed the oven.

"J'onn, right?" Sara asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Shovel talk, or twenty questions?" Sara asked.

"Neither," J'onn said. "I'm taking it you're getting the third degree from everyone tonight?"

"A little," Sara said.

"Don't take it personally," he said. "Most of us have been looking out for Kara for a long time. Given what she's been through and the secret's she's had to keep, it's hard not to be a little nervous when someone new enters the picture."

"You all want her to be safe and happy," Sara said. "I get that, because I want it too."

"I don't know about safe," J'onn said. "She and her sister both love to charge head-first into danger. But I've never seen either of them happier than they've been the last few weeks, and part of that is because of you. So, I just wanted to say thank you."

* * *

Kara was helping Alex and Eliza put the finishing touches on dinner while Sara was chatting animatedly with James and Winn, and most of the rest of the room was broken up into small groups. The night was going well, and everyone seemed to be having fun. In fact, the only thing that wasn't perfect was the fact that one person was missing. Kara had just about given up when there was a knock on the door.

"Who's that?" Alex asked. "I thought everyone was here."

"Not everyone," Kara said as she sat down the tray she'd been carrying to the table. She walked over to the door, a hopeful smile on her face, and opened it.

Lena stood outside, looking a little nervous.

"Hey, Lena," Kara said.

"Hey," Lena replied. "Um… I wasn't sure if I was still welcome."

"Of course you are," Kara said. She stepped back from the door to make room for Lena to enter. "Come inside."

"Thank you," Lena said as she stepped through the door. Kara closed the door as Lena turned towards her. She took a small package out of her pocket. It was expertly wrapped in expensive paper.

"What's this?" Kara asked.

"An apology. I thought a lot about what you said. About how I didn't think about consequences. And you're right. I made the world a harder place to live in for a lot of people. I guess it just took finding out one of those people was someone I cared about to make me really understand why people might need to hide," Lena said. "Go on."

Kara was aware that everyone in the apartment was watching them as she tore the paper off the present. Inside was a box with the words 'LCorp Image inducer' on the front above a picture of a face that was half-alien and half-human.

"They go on sale in a week," Lena said. "I know it's not a perfect solution. No one should have to hide, but I thought that, if they do, we can at least make it easier for them."

Kara looked up at Lena. She wanted to say something, say anything to express how much what Lena had done meant to her, but she couldn't find any words, so she just stepped forward and hugged Lena tightly.

"Thank you," she said.

"I'm sorry, Kara," Lena said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Kara said, rubbing Lena's back gently. She held her for a few moments before letting go, and then took her hand. "Come on. I have someone I want you to meet."

Kara led her across the room to where Sara was.

"Lena, this is my girlfriend, Sara," Kara said.

"Girlfriend?" Lena asked, and Kara could hear the shock in her voice.

"Yeah," Kara said. "Trust me, it was an even bigger surprise to me."

"Well, that makes me feel a little better," Lena said. "At least I was only oblivious to one huge aspect of my best friend's life."

She held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sara smiled as she shook Lena's hand. "Likewise," Sara said. "Kara's told me a lot about you."

"All good, I hope?"

"No," Sara said. "She says you make her eat vegetables."

Lena laughed. "I'm sure they'll be inducting me into the Supervillain hall of fame any day now."

* * *

Kara was sitting with Sara on the couch, watching as everyone mingled. Cat and Lucy were chatting with each other, cheerfully heaping abuse on Lois, who was close enough to hear every word, and had an amused grin on her face. Susan was some insanely detailed conversation with Lena about frequency hopping and encryption, all the while looking like she'd won the lottery. Clark, Lois and James were talking about the Daily Planet. Eliza, J'onn and M'gann were talking about the Martian ecosystem while they cleared the table. Maggie was sitting in Alex's lap in one of the arm chairs across from the couch, and both of them were half asleep. Winn had just wandered away from the conversation between James, Clark and Lois, and Kara watched as he walked over and dropped down next to her on the sofa with a grin on his face.

"What?" Kara asked.

"Oh my god, you're a lesbian," Winn said.

Kara stared at him blankly for a moment. Alex and Maggie both opened their eyes, glaring daggers at him, and Kara was pretty sure Sara was reaching for the knife in her boot. Then it hit her, and she broke out laughing so loud that everyone in the room turned to look at her.

"BRAT!" she said as she gave him a small shove.

"Someone want to let me in on the joke?" Maggie asked.

"No!" Kara said.

Winn grinned and turned to Maggie. "I might have gotten the wrong idea when she first tried to tell me about being Supergirl."

"Winn, I am warning you," Kara said.

"How did it go?" Winn asked.

"I will melt your face," Kara said.

"Last night, I embraced who I am and I don't want to stop," Winn said.

"I hate you," Kara said.

Maggie shook her head. "I have been into girls since I was twelve years old, and that is the gayest thing I have ever heard in my life," she said.

"Alex, help me out here," Kara said.

"I can't," Alex said. "I'm too busy crying over all the times I won't be able to use that story."

"You all suck," Kara said.

"It's okay, babe," Sara said as she slipped her arm around Kara. "I love you."

"Thank you," Kara said.

"Even if you are a great big nerd."

Kara turned and glared at Sara, but it didn't last long, because after a few seconds, she was too busy being kissed.

* * *

The evening was starting to wind down. A few people had already trickled out, and it was pretty clear everyone else was started to move that way. Sara had wanted a bottle of water, and Kara had gotten up to get it out of the fridge, which is where James caught her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Kara replied as she opened the door.

"I guess this explains why we didn't work out," James said .

"It's probably a big part of it," Kara said as she grabbed a bottle of water and closed the fridge. "I think the other part of it was Fort Rozz. I'm just not the same person I was before that day."

"Yeah," James said. "I can see that now."

"I am sorry," Kara said.

"You don't need to be," James said. "You're better like this. Stronger, more whole. Happier."

Kara smiled and glanced over at Sara. "Yeah," she said. "I am."

"I'm happy for you, Kara," James said.

"Thank you, James," Kara said

* * *

Kara and Sara escorted Alex, Maggie and Eliza to the door. Everyone else had long since gone, and as much as Kara loved her friends and family, she was looking forward to being alone with Sara again, but Alex could never leave without having the last word.

"You take care of my little sister, Lance," Alex said as Kara opened the door for then.

Sara smiled and slipped an arm around Kara. "Oh, I intend to take very good care of her," she said.

Kara had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the mortified look on Alex's face.

"Mom!" Alex whined.

"What, sweetie?" Eliza said. "It's perfectly natural. Healthy, even. Do I need to give you the sex talk again?"

The panicked expression on Alex's face was priceless.

* * *

National City (Earth 38)

Sunday, December 25th, 2016

Kara opened her eyes to find Sara sitting on the bed in the Lotus position, smiling down at her.

"Merry Christmas, Kara," Sara said as she reached into her lap, picked up a carefully-wrapped present, and held it out to her.

Kara sat up and took the gift. "What's this?" she asked.

"It's a present, silly," Sara said. "Go ahead and open it."

"Okay," Kara said. She tore the paper off and found what looked like a watch box inside. She opened it up and found what looked like a fancy digital watch. "A watch?"

"No," Sara said. "It's something Gideon and Cisco designed. It's made out of Nth Metal and Promethium so you won't accidentally break it, and powered by a bit of exotic matter. The design is based on something called a 'time courier'. Normally, they will only open portals to different spots in the timeline in the same universe, but this one has been modified to work across dimensions as well, so it can reach the Waverider wherever and whenever it is."

Kara looked down at the time courier, then back up at Sara. "You mean…"

"It's the key to my apartment," Sara said. "I hope it's not too soon."

"No," Kara said. "Definitely not too soon." She opened the band and slipped it on her arm, fastening it carefully. Then she looked up at Sara, who just smiled back at her, and leaned forward to collect her thank you.


End file.
